The After
by dryanghunt
Summary: A Crowen fic, takes place a month or so after the shooting. Cristina is trying to deal with her PTSD and Owen is trying his best to be there for her. But how will they react to some unexpected news... This is my first ever fic so I apologise if it sucks.
1. Chapter 1

"Owen Owen Noooooo" Cristina whispered in her sleep. Owen woke up hearing his wife's cries and was pained to realised he was the subject of her nightmare. He gently stroked her face and shook her lightly in an attempt to wake her. She jolted awake gasping for air and after coming around she looked into Owen's bright blue eyes and clung onto him, pulling him in to a tight embrace. Owen stroked his wife's curly hair and rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her. Cristina rested her head on his chest and listened to the comforting sound of his heart beat in an attempt to reassure herself that he was alright, between breaths she whispered

"You're alive" more to herself than him, it was so soft she didn't even know if he had heard. But he had and it tore him apart to see his wife experiencing the feelings he knew all too well. He kissed the top of her head and once her breathing had returned to normal he asked her

"Do u want to talk about it?". He felt her shaking her head against his chest and so left it at that, he had learned not to pry into her recurring nightmares and he hoped she would open up when she was ready.

She lay awake in his sleeping arms not able to get the image of her husband's lifeless body out of her head. She felt safe wrapped in his strong arms, but the prospect of falling asleep where images of that day haunted her made her feel uneasy and so, she just lay there enjoying the rising and falling of his chest and forcing her eyes to stay open. She thought back to her wedding day a week ago in an attempt to distract herself from her tired eyes. That day was the best she's had in a while, since the incident to be exact. Remembering the look on his face as she walked down the stairs brought butterflies to her stomach. Though, their first week as newlyweds could have gone better, between collapsing in the OR and handing him her wedding band back. But they made it through and Cristina was surprisingly content about being a married woman. Being legally bound to the love of her life put a smile on her face.

Owen made marriage seem a lot less scary that it had years ago. She was enjoying ticking the married box on forms and being introduced to as "my wife". Little things she had never thought she would care about but at this point in time her relationship with Owen was the one thing she could count on. She watched his sleeping face as she nuzzled into his neck and thought of how lucky she was. Owen would always fight for her, fight for them. He always knew what to say or when not to say anything at all. He was so good to her and she appreciated it more than she expressed. She made a mental note to thank him for being so patient with her.

A loud snore escaped Owen's mouth making Cristina jump and snap out of her thoughts. Suddenly her stomach flipped and she bolted for the bathroom, maybe those weren't butterflies earlier. She emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. When her stomach was empty she went to get up but the dizziness in her head sent her straight back down. So, she settled against the bath tub.

Owen woke up before the alarm and immediately felt the emptiness of his arms. He searched through the bed before opening his eyes and seeing her side was empty. He dragged his body, still half asleep, out of bed towards the bathroom where he saw the light on. He pried the door open and found her sitting there slumped against the tub looking quite frankly like death. Her eyes were red, her skin blotchy and a hue of green. He crouched down beside her.

"Cris...what's wrong babe" She looked him in the eyes only just realising his presence after being in an exhausted haze.

"Oh, I didn't feel good so I stayed near the toilet...you know in case I hurl again". Owen looked at her with pity in his eyes

"Why didn't you wake me?" he asked sounding slightly irritated.

"Uhm I didn't think I needed an audience" she replied.

"Cristina...in sickness and in health remember, I could have at least held your hair back" he said pointing at her hair infused with crusty vomit. Cristina saw it and groaned which turned into a low chuckle. Soon they were both cracking up.

"Come on let me get you something to eat" he said extending his hand to help her up.

Cristina stood up in front of him and brought him into a tender hug.

"Thank you" she whispered into his chest.

"For what I haven't done anything yet" he said with a slight chuckle.

"For everything" she said softly. Owen kissed the top of her head and lead her out into the kitchen.

Cristina sat at the counter watching her husband busy himself around the kitchen as she tried to mentally prepare herself for the day ahead of her at the hospital. It had been over a month since the shooting but still the thought of walking through those familiar doors sent shivers down her spine.

Owen appeared in front of her holding a slice of toast and a glass of orange juice, she took them and kissed him lightly.

"How're you feeling now...do u want me to call the chief it might be best u stay off" Owen asked. She hadn't enjoyed work ever since that fateful day. This past week after her incident in the OR had made work a new level of hell for her. Everyone was treating her like a fragile shell of the person she once was and she couldn't blame them because that's how she felt. But still the prospect of staying home alone terrified her more than putting up with people walking on egg shells around her.

"N-no no I'm fine" she replied while forcing a smile.

As they made their way to Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital, Cristina and Owen walked hand in hand. The closer they got to the hospital the more Owen could feel the tension building in his wife's body, as it did every time. He squeezed her hand and gave her a sympathetic smile. He hated not being able to help her but knew that working was best for her right now.

They made it into the lobby and stopped before they parted ways.

"Page me if you need me...okay?" he said.

"I will" she said softly before pulling him into a deep kiss. When they parted Owen headed for the pit while Cristina went to the locker room. She met Meredith standing at the nurse's station.

"Ohhh you look like death" Meredith said.

"Thanks" Cristina replied in a snarky tone whilst snatching the Meredith's coffee out of her hand.

"Heyy" Meredith retorted. Cristina got one whiff of the coffee before her stomach flipped at the smell and she ran to the nearest medical wasted bin. After taking her head out of the trash Meredith appeared in front of her

"Hate to say it but karma's a bitch" she commented to an unamused Cristina whilst taking her coffee back out of her friend's hand. After receiving a death glare from her Meredith asked.

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not your coffee smells like shit. How do you drink that?!" Cristina answered irritated and stormed off to get changed.

"Geez" Meredith said under her breath as she watched her reciting friend.

As Cristina rummaged through her locker in search of deodorant her hand whacked into her pack of tampons sending a pile of the buggers to scatter on the floor.

"Perfect" Cristina hissed as she bent down to pick them up. Suddenly a thought flew through her head.

"Oh shit" she muttered as she began doing the math in her head. Just then the door opened and Alex walked in.

"WHAT DATE IS IT" she practically screamed at him. Seeing the distress Cristina was in right now, as she screamed and frantically gathered tampons didn't faze Alex. After Seven years with Yang he had learnt not to ask.

"The 22nd" he said nonchalantly as he got what he came for and left. Cristina sat there on the floor dumfounded shaking her head.

Soon the room filled with her fellow residents and Dr Bailey appeared and gave them all orders.

"Helloooo earth to Cristina" Meredith was standing in front of Cristina waving her hand before her face. Cristina snapped out of her thoughts and grabbed Meredith's arm.

"Meredith" she muttered as she dragged herself off the floor and started to guide Meredith down the hall. They went into an empty exam room and Cristina locked the door and started pulling all the blinds.

"You're not having another mental breakdown, are you?" Meredith asked sarcastically. Cristina all but glared at her.

"I need you to take my blood" Cristina mumbled. Meredith was puzzled for a moment but then started to piece it together in her head. The vomiting and crankiness oh no she can't be. She looked up to see Cristina's troubled face and got the answer she was looking for. Without another word she gathered the supplies and began to take her blood.

As she filled the small container with her friend's blood, her mind was racing. 'Cristina can't be pregnant...she can barely take care of herself at the minute never mind a baby'. She worried the affect this would have on her friend who was barely holding herself together. 'She's a newlywed for crying out loud'. Meredith realised she was failing to conceal her thoughts and so tried her best to put on her 'everything is gonna be okay' face. But Cristina wasn't buying it.

"Oh god" Cristina muttered after several moments of silence. Meredith could sense the panic rising in her person.

"Listen it's gonna be fine...we don't even know if you're pregnant yet...hey for all we know it could just be the flu okay". Cristina merely nodded and began fidgeting with here rings. Once Meredith was done collecting the blood she cleaned up Cristina's arm and put away the supplies.

"Okay I'm gonna run this up to the lab, you stay here and... umm try not to panic okay?" Cristina looked her in the eyes

"Okay" she replied softly before escaping back to the whirlwind of thoughts circling her head. In a time like this all she wanted was Owen. He would know what to do and how to ease her out of her panic but she couldn't tell him about this. Not yet. She continued to fidget as she thought about how he would react. Would be even want a baby? Did she want it? Actually, she knew he would want it and maybe just maybe she thought she could too.

On her way to the lab Meredith bumped into Dr Bailey.

"Sorry" Meredith muttered after snapping out of her thoughts and raising her gaze to see who she collided with.

"Grey, care to inform me why you and Dr Yang haven't started your assignments. Do you think we pay you to walk around all day dreaming about dear knows who. No, now snap out of it and get to work!" Bailey ordered. Meredith turned on her heels before Bailey could see what she was carrying and resumed her trip to the lab.

Meredith sat on a gurney as she waited for the lab results, her mind still troubled with thoughts of her friend's possible impending motherhood.

"Dr Grey, everything alright" asked Dr Hunt as he passed by. The troubled thoughts in her head reflected on her face.

" Y-yes all good thanks" she replied. Just then the lab technician called out

" Blood work for a Cristina Yang". Meredith jumped up catching Owen's puzzled expression. She grabbed the blood work and tried to get past Owen without having to explain but he grabbed her arm.

"Meredith". She turned to face him. She didn't want to tell him especially considering she hadn't even looked at the results yet but she knew he would worry if she didn't. After all he was Cristina's person now too. She pulled out of his hold to quickly scan the results whilst keeping a poker face.

"Okay listen, Cristina asked me to take her blood... it's nothing serious but I need to go tell her the results" she said with as much composure as she could muster. She tried to get passed him again but failed.

"I'm coming with you" he replied. He was confused and still slightly concerned for his wife and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. Meredith merely sighed, not knowing how Cristina would react to her bringing him along, and started to make her way back to the exam room. Owen followed closely behind her, trying to make sense of what was happening.

When they reached the room Meredith turned to Owen,

"Okay I think you should wait outside while I tell her b-" She was interrupted by Owen who was getting more and more irritated.

"No, she's my wife I'm going in there".

From inside the exam room Cristina was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Meredith's voice from outside the door. She walked towards the door trying to make out the bickering on the other side.

"I know she your wife but s-" Meredith was interrupted again as the door swung open. Cristina and Owen locked eyes.

"Cristina" Owen said as he pushed past Meredith and took his wife into his arms.

"Tell me what's going on". She looked up into his blue eyes and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Just having him near her relaxed her and erased some of her panic.

"Umm I-i had Meredith draw um I umm I-i'm late" she eventually mumbles.

"Ohh" replied Owen finally piecing it all together. He then sensed her worry

"It's okay" he said taking her face in his hands,

"whatever happens will be okay...we're in this together" he said reassuringly while stroking her cheek.

"Okay" she replied whilst taking a long breath out. "Tell us Mer"...


	2. Chapter 2

Both Cristina and Owen took in a deep breath as they awaited Meredith's response. Owen took Cristina's small hand in his and gave her a reassuring smile. Meredith quickly skimmed the blood work again, for what felt like forever. Eventually she looked up and met the familiar brown eyes of her person.

"You're pregnant" she said getting straight to the point.

Meredith carefully watched their reactions as the news reached their ears. A smile instinctively grew upon Owen's face as the words sunk in. He caught himself on and quickly put on a more neutral expression, as he examined his wife's face, searching for any emotion. Cristina's face was as if she'd seen a ghost. She let go of Owen's hand as she tried to process her emotions.

"I'm pregnant" she mumbled quietly to herself.

Meredith and Owen continued to study her, expecting an outburst or at least some tears. Cristina stood up slowly, grabbed the sheet of paper containing her results, from Meredith's hands, and made her way to the door.

"Cris wait.." Owen called after her. But she was gone before he could finish. Owen and Meredith exchange looks before Owen got up to rush after her. Meredith stepped in front of him.

"Let her go. She needs time to process this" she said blocking him from getting out the door.

"Meredith, get out of my way. This has nothing to do with you" he hissed at her while pushing past her. But it was too late there was no trace of her in the corridors. He searched their usual spots, the vent, their favourite on call room, even the tunnels but she was nowhere to be found.

Cristina was wandering aimlessly around the hospital as she tried to decide how she felt about this situation. Had this happened a couple of months ago, her world would have come crashing down. This would have completely derailed her plans of becoming a cardio god and she would never even think about keeping it. But right now, said plans had been thrown out the window by her inability to even step foot in an OR.

As she walked out the hospital doors and took a seat on a nearby bench, she began to picture what a child half hers and half Owen's would look like. Images of piercing blue eyes accompanied by unruly curly brown hair played in her mind and brought the corners of her lips into a slight smile. Maybe this had come at the perfect time, to give her a purpose other than being a surgeon.

She continued running through her options in her mind, the crisp breeze helping to calm her nerves and clear her head. At the prospect of an abortion Cristina felt uneasy. Although, she had almost got one once before, the idea of losing something else after all the tragedy she had just experienced seemed inhumane. And although she was not the motherly type she already felt an unusual attachment to the fetus inside of her.

She watched the people coming and going from the hospital as she tried to picture herself as a mother. She definitely was not the typical domestic stay at home mother, she could barely even make a sandwich for crying out loud. No, she was no Susan Grey, but maybe she could be good at it in her own way. She certainty knew what not to do, thanks to her mother (and Meredith's).

Of course, it would be challenging, but when was Cristina Yang ever known for turning down a challenge. And she would have Owen, something her mother nor Meredith's ever had. She knew he would make an amazing dad. She'd seen how he'd interacted with kids who came into the ER, it came so naturally to him. And although, at the time she first witnessed his fatherly instincts it made her feel sick, thinking about it now brought a smile to her face.

She was thinking about the little badass she could raise her kid to be. She was sure he or she would have an abundance of brains accompanied by a witty sense of humour and Owen's big heart. Oh shit, Owen. She had been sitting here for the better part of an hour now, she should probably go and talk to him. Just then, she heard the door open and footsteps freeze beside her bench. She looked up to see his comforting, ocean blue eyes staring down at her.

"Cristina...there you are" he said softly. Whilst letting out a breath he had been holding after thinking she could be under a bus, or at the bottom of the ocean, you can't take any chances at Seattle Grace Mercy Death.

"You can't just take off, we're in this together we need to talk about it" he said taking a seat next to her.

She averted her gaze to the trees in the distance as she listened to the low rumbles of his comforting voice. Even when he was lecturing her she still found his voice comforting.

"I just needed some fresh air" she replied.

He studied her face once again as she avoided his gaze. After a moment or two of silence he said.

"Tell me what's going on inside that head" as he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. Cristina gathered her thoughts before replying.

"The other day you told me you'd love me even if I wasn't a surgeon" she said softly.

"Uhh, yes, of course I'll love you no matter what Cristina, but where are you going with this?" he asked confused while trying to make eye contact with her.

"You know, as a surgeon the first thing you should think when you find out you're pregnant is, 'how the hell am I gonna juggle a baby and a career'. And whether or not you even want to try." She said, turning to let him look into her deep brown eyes.

"But I don't want to, I'm not going to try and juggle both" she said flatly.

Owen's expression immediately fell to a look of disappointment. He had known Cristina had never wanted kids and with the state she was in at the minute he was sure she wouldn't be coming around anytime soon. So, since finding out the news he had tried not to let himself get his hopes up. But he couldn't help it. And now he found himself feeling as though he had been kicked in the gut.

Cristina caught his fallen expression and realised that she was confusing him.

"I don't want to juggle because I don't want to be a surgeon anymore." She replied looking deeply into his eyes.

"Cristi..." Owen began before he was interrupted.

"No listen, I know everyone wants me to continue being a surgeon and being the same person who I was before. But I can't Owen, I've changed, that day changed me and I'm not the same anymore. This baby has given me a moment of clarity. And as cheesy as it sounds, I think maybe this baby came at the perfect time. Maybe it's our silver lining." She said trying to get her point across to him.

Owen contemplated everything his wife said. He was relieved that they were on the same page about the baby, but he wasn't going to let her throw her career away. He was surprised that she was so accepting of her pregnancy and excitement started to build in him as he allowed himself to think of their future. But he snapped out of that thought as he processed how he should react to his wife's confession.

He had noticed her face light up when she talked about their unborn child and it was something he didn't expect from her. It was the way her face used to look when she talked about an amazing surgery. He hadn't seen that look on her in months and he found it rather refreshing.

He would pay to see that look more often. And if quitting her job gave her that back then maybe he could be supportive. He decided to give her this, but he knew he wasn't gonna give up. Being a surgeon was who she was, and pregnant or not she needed it. He thought about it and decided not to argue.

"Okay" he replied simply.

She was taken back by his response, she was expecting him to put up a fight. But she was thankful that he understood. She looked back up into his eyes, showing her appreciation without having to utter a word.

He put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head.

"We're gonna have a baby" he said softly whilst letting it fully sink in.

"Yeah" she said whilst pulling him closer into a deep kiss.

They stayed like that for a while, enjoying each other's company and pondering everything that had just been said. Their moment of tranquillity was broken as Owen's pager went off.

"911 in the pit" he said whilst he began to get up. He bent down to give her a tender kiss.

"I guess I better go talk to the chief... that'll be fun" she said sarcastically.

"Come find me after" he said before heading to the pit.

After putting it off for a few moments, Cristina eventually brought herself to get up and head to the chief's office. On her way there she met Meredith charting in the corridor.

"Mer" she called as she arrived beside her.

"Cristina... did you find Owen. You know he was losing his head trying to find you." she said.

"Yeah, we talked" she replied whilst dragging Mer into an on call room. They sat side by side on the bottom bunk of one of the beds.

"You know you have quite the dramatic flair, that was quite the exit earlier" she joked.

"Says you Mrs 'shoot me'... trust me you're the drama queen here" Cristina retorted.

"So how do we feel about this?" Meredith asked warily, unable to gauge where Cristina stood on the topic.

"I don't know if it's the hormones or what but I'm surprisingly bright and shiny on the topic." She replied looking into her friend's eyes.

"I've started to come around to the idea of being a mum. I mean, just imagine how badass a little me would be!" she said with a smile.

"Oh God, I'm gonna have to put up with 2 of you!" Meredith said sarcastically.

Cristina suddenly remembered Meredith's recent miscarriage and thought of how this could be hard for her person.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to rub this in your face, after recent events I mean." she said softly as she linked arms with her friend and rested her head on her shoulder.

"No, you're not. Cristina I'm happy for you." she replied.

"Anyway, me and Derek are trying again, so, if we can conquer my hostile uterus, your badass baby might have its very own dark and twisty person" Meredith joked.

They both burst out into laughter.

"Oh god what happened to us Mer, we've gone soft" Cristina said jokingly.

Cristina hesitated before breaking the other bit of news she had. She didn't want to tarnish this happy memory with news she knew Meredith would object to.

"There's something else" Cristina whispered. Meredith looked at her quizzically.

"I'm on my way to the chief... to quit the programme" she muttered.

Meredith's eyes bulge in her head as she hears what Cristina said.

"Cristina, no you can't do this. You can't let him win, he's taken enough from us" she said referring to Gary Clarke.

Cristina took her head off Meredith's shoulder and unlinked their arms as she turned to face her.

"Meredith, it's not about anyone winning. I don't feel safe here. When I'm here, I count down the moments to when I can leave. It's not my passion anymore" Cristina said bluntly.

"No, Cristina I know you, I'm not going to let you do this" Meredith argued raising her voice and looking Cristina directly in the eye.

"I don't need you to 'let me' do anything" Cristina replied almost shouting as her irritation grew. Why couldn't she just understand like Owen had she thought to herself.

"I know that you w.." Meredith began before Cristina's irritation grew too much and she got up to leave.

"I'm not doing this with you" she muttered before leaving.

"Ughhh" Meredith muttered as she watched the door slam.

"I hate it when she does that" she said to the empty oncall room.

After leaving the on call room, Cristina began what could quite possibly be her last journey through the hospital, to the chief's office. She had walked these halls every day for 7 years, but the thought of never walking them again didn't bring up any nostalgic memories for her. Quite the opposite actually, it relieved her. As she walked the all too familiar corridors, she didn't picture the many memories spent in them, fighting her friends for surgeries or catching up on the latest hospital gossip. Instead those memories had been replaced with images of blood stained walls and dead security guards.

When Cristina finally reached the door to the Chief's office, she took a deep breath before, knocking.

"Come in" She hears from inside.

Slowly she opened the door and stepped inside.

"Dr Yang, what can I do for you?" Chief Webber asked...


	3. Chapter 3

After a long discussion with Chief Webber, Cristina exited his office feeling exhausted. The events of the day along with her lack of sleep, finally taking a toll on her. Her conversation with the Chief had not gone as badly as she had expected, he was very understanding but still, she could tell he was disappointed in her.

She made her way down to the pit to find Owen, after today all she wanted was to go home with her husband and lay in his secure arms and forget the shambles this day had been.

She found him standing at a computer engrossed in his work. She went up behind him and wrapped her small arms around his muscular frame. A smile grew on Owen's face as he felt his wife's embrace.

"Hey you" he said, turning round to face her. She smiled in response.

"How'd it go with the chief?" he asked, secretly hoping she'd somehow changed her mind.

"Okay" she replied softly.

Owen kissed the top,of her head, breathing in her familiar scent.

"Ready go home?" he asked her.

"Yes" she said softly in response.

Cristina and Owen returned home to their fire house, which was still full of unpacked boxes. They were both exhausted after their emotionally draining day. After getting changed they both climbed straight into bed, too tired to even eat dinner. They resumed their usual position, in each other's arms.

"That was quite a day" Owen whispered into her hair.

"Tell me about it!" she replied.

They lay in a comfortable silence as they came to terms with the days events. It dawned on Owen that it wasn't gonna be just the 2 of them anymore. He was going to have a child! He couldn't quite believe it. He had always planned on having a family some day, but hadn't thought it would happen quite so soon. To say Owen was thrilled was an understatement, but he played down his emotions around his wife, who he knew was still coming to terms with things. Despite what others may think or even Cristina herself, Owen knew that Cristina was going to be a great mum.

He got to see sides of her that no one else did, he knew her inside out. He knew that she was scared out of her mind right now at the prospect of it all, but he also knows that this baby couldn't ask for a better mum. Sure, she wasn't the most traditional mother but he knew she would be good at it in her own way.

He instinctively placed his hand under Cristina's t-shirt and on her stomach. She flinched at first not knowing how to feel about the gesture, but eventually settled into it. She looked up at him and smiled.

Owen didn't know how the next few months were going to play out,but he knew he had to come up with some way to get her back to work. Maybe she just needs some time away from it all to realise how much she needs it. He couldn't bring himself to think of the alternative. They had a lot to talk about over the next while.

He went to delve into the topic and find out more about her feelings on everything the day had entailed but when he looked back down at her she was sound asleep. He watched her peaceful state as she slept and he hoped that she'd stay that way tonight.

Cristina woke up to the blaring of their alarm, she was still wrapped in her husband's arms, one round her waist and one on her stomach. She turned over to see his sleepy face.

"Morning" she whispered into his ear.

"Morning beautiful" he said opening his eyes and looking into hers.

He removed his arm from her stomach and reached over to silence the alarm. He stretched and yawned whilst bringing himself to sit upright.

He began to get up and started rummaging through his drawers and throwing some clothes on. He had an early morning surgery, he had to prepare for.

"What're you going to do today" he asked her whilst pulling a shirt over his head.

"Uhhh, I don't know yet" she said realising she could do whatever she wanted now.

"Okay, well you know where I'll be if you need be" he said leaning down to give her a kiss before rushing out the door.

At the hospital, Meredith was on Owen's service for the day. As they scrubbed in for their morning surgery, Owen notice the disgruntled looks he was getting from Meredith.

"Something I can help you with Dr Grey" He asked.

"No." She said bluntly.

"Its just... H-how could you let her do this. I know Cristina and she's not going to get any better if she's not here. She's just going to fall behind" she continued.

"I don't see how this is my fault, Meredith." he replied.

"Not that it's any of your business but Cristina is my wife. My slightly traumatised and now pregnant wife. And I'm doing the best I can to help her." He said angrily.

"This is completely my business, she's my person and I've known her a hell of a lot longer than you have" She replied matching his raised tone.

"I'm not going to stand here and argue about who loves Cristina more, listen I don't know what you want me to say. I didn't want her to quit, of course I didn't. But with everything that's going on maybe she just needs some time away" he said, whilst scrubbing under his nails.

Meredith didn't respond, she turned off the tap and walked into the OR shaking her hands dry.

After having a long relaxing bath, Cristina got out, pulled on her robe and sat on the edge of the bed bored. She looked around at the state her new apartment was in. They had unpacked the bare minimum and hadn't even bought any furniture yet. All they had was their bed, one large arm chair which used to be in Owen's apartment and the TV which was rarely switched on.

She wandered over to one stack of boxes, and caught sight of some old boxsets. It was her old 'Dawson's Creek' boxsets, which she had owned as a teenager, she would never tell anyone but Dawson's Creek was her guilty pleasure show and she hadn't watched it in so long, with being so busy these past few years. She grabbed the DVDs from the box and dusted them off. Why not, she thought, I've nothing better to do.

She inserted the first DVD into the TV, grabbed a box of cereal and a blanket and sat down on the armchair in front of the TV. Before she knew it she was on her 5th episode.

Meredith made it through her surgery with Owen, as awkward as it was. Now she was on lunch, she walked the corridors on her way to the cafeteria. Once there, she grabbed a salad and sat down at a table alone. Alex was in surgery and everyone else was either dead or MIA. As she tucked in to her salad, her anger grew. She missed Cristina already and was determined to get her back.

She chucked her salad in the bin and decided to go to Cristina's and give her a piece of her mind.

On her way out the hospital doors, she caught sight of Derek. She stormed up to him.

"Cristina quit her job. She just quit and Owen let her!" she screamed at Derek.

Derek was taken aback by his wife's outburst but before he could even react she stormed off in the direction of the fire house.

Cristina was still sat in front of the TV, she didn't know whether it was the hormones or what but she found herself needing several tissues as she continued her binge session. She was on the second disc when she heard the front door opening and footsteps stomping up the stairs.

"Owen" Cristina called out over the sound of the TV.

Meredith could hear the sound of the Dawson's Creek theme song echoing throughout the building, as she climbed the stairs and caught sight of Cristina. She was sat in front of the TV completely engrossed in the show with a mouthful of cereal and surrounded by crumpled up tissues.

"Seriously...Dawson's Creek?!" Meredith basically screamed at Cristina, drawing her attention away from the screen.

"You quit you job to what, become a professional couch potato?" She shouted.

Cristina was surprised by Meredith's reaction,

"Hey, what's wrong with Dawson's Creek, it's a classic" she retorted while she took a piece of cereal and fired it at Meredith, not realising how pissed off she actually was.

"I'm serious Cristina!" Meredith barked back at her.

"This is pathetic, what you're doing is pathetic, giving up is pathetic" she continued.

Cristina wasn't sure where this anger was coming from, but she was getting really irked by Meredith's badgering.

"What the hell is wrong with you Mer" she shouted back.

"I get that you've been through a lot Cristina but you don't get to just give up" she said lowering her voice slightly.

Cristina paused the TV and got up to face Meredith. The irritation had built in her and she was ready to rip Mer's head off. She was so sick of everyone acting like they knew what was best for her. She expected more from Meredith.

"Oh my God Mer just SHUT UP! Stop pretending like you know what's best for me. You don't know what's best for me because you don't know what I'm going through." She shouted.

"You were there Mer, your husband was on the table! Why are you fine? Why is everyone else fine!" She screamed letting out frustrations she had been holding in for the past month.

Meredith stood there dumfounded unable to respond. She didn't have an answer.

"You know if it was anyone else I would've walked away" Cristina said lowering her voice slightly and letting tears stream down her face.

"No you wouldn-" Meredith began.

"I would've walked away" Cristina repeated staring straight into Meredith's eyes.

They stood there staring at each other in silence for what felt like forever. Before Meredith turned around and left without uttering another word.

Once Cristina heard the front door slam close, she collapsed back into her chair and began to sob.

This was the sight Owen returned home to, he approached her cautiously.

"Cristina, what's wrong?" He asked whilst sitting down on the arm of her chair.

"J-joey realised she was in love with Dawson but now he's with Jen and it's too late" she muttered between sobs.

"Cristina" He replied, knowing that wasn't the real reason.

Cristina looked up into his worried eyes and pulled him down to sit in the seat with her.

"Meredith's being a bitch" she muttered softly.

Owen wrapped his arms around his wife as he wondered what had happened since he left.

"You know I was always supportive of her, even with her stupid mcdrama, and the one time I need her to be, she turns all judgey on me" she spoke into his chest.

He stroked her back trying to stop the sobs.

That night, Derek was in the same position as he comforted his wife.

"S-she blames me Derek." Meredith cried into his shoulder.

"Shhh" he whispered to her as he tried to soothe her.

"She blames me" she repeated as she continued to cry.

* * *

A week later, Cristina continued to fill her days with Coco Pops and Dawson's Creek. She was now on the 5th season and only left her armchair to get more cereal or when she felt the sudden urge to hurl. She watched to distract herself from everything else going on in her life. She hadn't left her house since she quit her job and the only person she'd spoken to was Owen, well other than the TV as she yelled at Jack to warn him that his best friend, Jen, might turn into a judgemental bitch. Yes, her and Meredith were still fighting.

She'd thought about phoning Mer, of course she missed her and she hadn't planned on unloading on her like she did. But what she said was true and she didn't know how they could get passed it. And besides, she wasn't going to be the first one to apologise.

At the hospital, Mark Sloan was eating his lunch when he noticed the resident's usual table looking particularly empty. Just then Owen sat down next to him.

"Where the hell is your wife?" he asked Owen.

"You didn't hear? She quit about a week ago?" he responded while taking a bite of his sandwich. Over the week Owen had tried to talk to Cristina about work. But when the subject came up she would go mute and retreat back into herself, so he hadn't pushed it too much.

"What do you mean she quit?! What is she doing?" he asked confused.

"Uhm, she's probably on to her fourth episode of Dawson's Creek by now" he said looking at his watch.

"She's just moping around?" he asked not expecting a response.

Mark took out his phone and dialled a number. After three rings he heard her pick up.

Callie was curled up in her bed, sobbing endlessly. She tried to compose herself before answering.

"H-hello" she said failing to conceal her sobs.

"Callie, did you know Yang quit?!" he asked.

"She what?!" Callie responded not believing her ears

"Yeah, she's being all mopey too, so yous might as well go and be mopey together" he said before ending the call.

After his call, Mark's pager went off and he had to rush away. Some time later Derek came and took his seat.

"Hey" he said to Owen as he sat down.

"Hey" Owen replied smiling.

"How's your half of the twisted sisters?" Derek asked.

"Uhmm she's doing ok, I guess" He responded.

"They're fighting you know" Derek said while sipping on his coffee.

"Oh trust me I know" Owen replied chuckling slightly.

"I hate it when they fight, its like they can't function without each other. Meredith's been all dark and twisty the past week. I even offered to dance it out with her but she just glared at me" Derek noted.

Owen laughed in response.

"Cristina's no better, I caught her screaming at the TV warning them about judgemental friends" he said whilst laughing. Derek joined him in laughing at the ridiculousness of their situation.

"Oh god, what're we going to do" Derek muttered.

Back at the firehouse, Cristina was just flushing the toilet after throwing up half a box of cereal, when she heard a knock at the door.

She opened the door to a puffy eyed Callie dressed in sweats.

"Hey" Callie muttered as she stepped inside.

They made their way upstairs in silence, when Callie seen the TV she said.

"Dawson's Creek! I love this show."

"Thank you!" Cristina responded thankful that she wasn't alone in her love for the show.

Callie dragged over an old camping chair as Cristina settled back into her usual spot.

After silently watching half and episode, Callie blurted out,

"My girlfriend chose Africa over me"

Cristina had heard the gossip and so wasn't surprised by her sudden declaration.

"I'm pregnant" Cristina responded casually,joining in on the random declarations and then went back to watching the show. Callie was surprised at first but soon averted her gaze back to the screen.

They didn't utter another word for hours.

"This chair is really uncomfortable, how come you get the comfy chair?" Callie argued, squirming in her seat.

"It's my house. Plus I'm pregnant" Cristina retorted.

"Well you should buy more than one chair" Callie muttered.

Just then an idea dawned upon Callie.

"Oh my God, we should have a house warming party" Callie shouted.

Cristina thought about it.

"We should have a house warming party!" Cristina shouted back.

That's just what she needed she thought, a party would not only give her an excuse to unpack, but also get extremely drunk. Just what she needed...Shit! The baby. Damn it. But still a party, even a sober one, sounded like a great idea...

 **Notes: Thank you so much for reading, if you couldn't tell I have a slight obsession with Dawson's creek, and couldn't help but incorporate it! Hope you enjoyed, next chapter will be up soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Yay, this is going to be great" Callie said jumping out of her seat. "So, first we need to get you some furniture, and then we'll need booze, lots of booze, and then..."Callie continued to ramble on listing everything they had to do.

Cristina had completely zoned out at the prospect of having to actually do stuff.

"Are you sure we can't just hire someone to do all the party planning crap?" she asked to an unamused Callie.

"I mean the last party you threw didn't go so well." She said as Callie gave her a disgruntled look.

"You know with the whole Arizona running in the opposite direction in tears, at her own surprise party." Cristina continued in a sarcastic tone. Callie visibly flinched at the mention of her ex-girlfriend's name.

"Cristina" Callie shouted, "We're doing this. And it's going to the best party you've ever been to" Callie said regaining her composure.

"I doubt that" Cristina muttered to herself.

After, brushing crumbs out of her hair and changing out of her robe, they were both presentable enough to leave the house and head to the mall. They got into a cab, and throughout the journey Callie continued to scribble down ideas and make a list of the stores they had to visit.

"Do you think a fire breather would be too much?" She asked Cristina as they approached the mall.

Cristina merely laughed and gave her a disapproving look.

"Give me that" she said, snatching Callie's notebook out of her hand.

After, going to the first store on the list, and buying all the furniture they needed. Cristina was already done with shopping.

"Okay, where to next?" Callie asked reaching for her list.

Cristina moved it out of her reach. "I think it's time for a snack" She said dragging Callie into the food court.

"Cristina, we just go here" Callie argued.

But Cristina was already ordering. She returned with 2 giant slushies, and they took a seat at a table.

After slurping down half their drinks, Callie said "We might as well start inviting people" as she took out her phone.

"So, we'll invite everyone from the hospital. Well apart from creepy Joe in radiology" Callie mumbled, and she began typing.

"And Mer" Cristina muttered whilst watching people wandering around the mall.

"What" Callie asked looking up from her phone confused. "Why not?"

"Just don't invite her, it's my party okay?" Cristina argued not wanting to get into it.

"Okay" Callie responded, she obviously wanted the gossip but knew not to push Cristina.

After. several minutes of silence, Cristina looked up from her drink to see that Callie's eyes were fixed on something in the distance and they were glassing over. She followed her gaze to a young kid, flying up and down the mall on a pair of wheelie sneakers.

"Seriously Callie" She said snapping her out of her trance. "Get a grip".

"Hey" Callie replied slightly offended. Just then, Cristina got up and sprinted to the bathroom.

Callie watched her fleeing and picked up their drinks to follow her, slightly confused.

She found her sitting on the floor of a cubicle throwing up. She flushed the toilet and stood up to meet Callie.

"We're a mess" Callie joked.

"It's this stupid baby" Cristina replied annoyed.

"Stupid? "Callie replied "I thought you were happy about it"

Cristina groaned, it had only been a week since she found out and she had tried not to think about it. She'd barely even discussed It with Owen.

"I am...I think...I'm not a hundred percent sure how I feel" She replied weakly.

* * *

Back at the hospital, Owen was standing at the nurse's station with Derek and Alex, when Alex's phone went off.

"Hey, party at your place tonight " Alex said turning from his chart to face Owen.

"What?...that's impossible. We haven't even unpacked yet!" Owen replied slightly confused. "Let me see that" He said reaching for Alex's phone.

"You didn't know?" Derek asked amused.

"No" He replied, "I guess I should be happy that I won't have to sit through hours of Dawson's Creek tonight" He joked.

Derek caught sight of Meredith walking past and called her over.

"What do u make of this party Cristina's throwing tonight?" He asked her.

Meredith paused, and faked a smile "I wouldn't know... I wasn't invited" She said in a bitter tone, before turning around and getting in the elevator.

Owen and Derek exchanged a look.

"You put your foot in that one man" Alex said as he clapped Derek on the shoulder and made his way down the corridor.

Owen turned to Derek, "You know you should come anyways. They need to get over this sooner or later. Maybe we could get them to chat"

"Yeah, you're right, I want my wife back...We'll be there" he said whilst plotting in his head how he would convince Meredith to attend.

* * *

Back at the mall, Cristina and Callie were onto their third store, after already securing decorations there were now shopping for food and drink. Cristina had been sent in search of ice but had got lost and somehow ended up in the clothing department. As she was trying to find her way out, her phone started ringing.

She looked down to see a familiar pair of blue eyes and ginger hair displayed on her screen, a smile grew on her face.

"Hello" She said into her phone.

"Care to inform me why I have the bank phoning me to tell me I've maxed out one of my credit cards" He asked.

"Uhhh...I went shopping" she said as if the answer was obvious.

He laughed at her response "You went shopping" he repeated.

"Yeah,I bought us lots of furniture and crap...you'll love it" she said knowing he wouldn't be annoyed with her, "And, oh...we're having a party tonight"

"I heard" he responded sounding slightly confused.

"I'm sorry are you annoyed?" she asked him picking up on his tone.

"No, I'm not annoyed" He replied genuinely. "I've just never seen you sober at a party" he joked.

Cristina continued to wander around the clothing department with the phone to her ear, when she came upon the baby section.

She picked up a tiny yellow onesie and just stared at it. Her mouth dropped open as the reality that she was pregnant sunk in.

"Cristina...are you still there" Owen called through the phone.

She lifted the phone back up to her ear "Owen" she said so softly it was barely audible.

"Yes, Cristina are you ok?" He asked growing slightly concerned by how she was acting.

"Owen...we're going to have a baby" she continued, beginning to ramble, "and it's going to pee and poop and probably vomit and...I'm the one responsible for cleaning it up." She said her anxiety over the subject growing by the second.

"I don't know anything about babies wh-" She continued rambling until Owen interrupted her.

"Cristina, you're not the only one responsible, I'll be there too. And we'll learn everything we need to know before the baby comes, okay?" he said trying to calm her down.

"And besides once you clean it up you get to dress it up in a cute little outfit" he said trying to lighten her mood.

She laughed slightly, and nodded her head as her anxieties slowly started to fade back away.

"Okay" She said softly, as she placed the onesie in her basket.

* * *

Back at SGMW, Derek paged Meredith to an on-call room, and waited for her to arrive. He was sat at the edge of the bed trying to figure out how to approach this topic. Convincing your wife to attend her best friend's party shouldn't be this hard, he thought to himself.

The door swung open, and Meredith appeared in front of, "Hey" she said as she sat down beside him and gave him a gentle kiss. He put his arm around her and decided to jump straight in.

"Okay, don't hate me for what I'm about to say, I'm doing it for you. Okay?" he said, receiving an alarmed look from her.

"Oh god, what is it?" she replied.

"We're going to the party tonight" he said looking into her eyes.

"No Derek, she doesn't want to see me" she said squirming out of his embrace.

"Come, on Mer you have to see each other eventually" he said. He could tell she wasn't going to budge so he decided to try a different approach.

"Okay, fine... remember that time I pulled you out of freezing cold water and saved your life...I'm calling in my favour" he said jokingly, taking her hand in his.

She smirked as he childish approach to blackmail her into going. He was right though, they would have to see each other eventually. She had been in a bad mood all week, she wasn't herself when they were fighting. But still she didn't know if Cristina would want her there.

"Ughh...fine" she said reluctantly "But we're not staying that long"

"Thank you" he replied softly and leaned forward to kiss her.

* * *

Back at the firehouse, the furniture had been delivered and all the boxes unpacked. Callie was rushing around adding the finishing touches, whilst Cristina stood and ate all the snack she placed out.

"You know you could at least help, this is your party" Callie muttered, "And don't pull the pregnancy card. You're barely pregnant and that shouldn't stop you from unpacking boxes." she finished slightly irritated by her lack of effort.

"How far along are you anyway?" she asked.

"Ughh... I don't know. Couple of weeks probably" Cristina replied with a mouthful of crisps.

"You haven't got a scan yet?" Callie asked, slightly shocked that 2 doctors hadn't got their baby checked out yet.

"I will...oh and don't tell anyone...You know about the whole baby thing, not many people know yet." she pleaded.

"Okay" Callie muttered before turning to do her next errand.

2 hours later, the party was in full swing. The alcohol had been well and truly raided, and Cristina found herself sitting bored on the couch surrounded by drunk people, all of which she didn't really know and were having a much better time than she was.

Owen, Alex and Mark all entered the party at the same time after finishing their shifts. As Owen walked upstairs his mouth dropped open at his now fully furnished home. His eyes scanned the room looking for a head full of raven curls. He found her on the couch with a bag of chips on her lap. He walked over to her and took a seat next to her.

"Hey stranger" he said whilst giving her a kiss on the check. A smile grew on her face, she shifted closer to him on the couch.

"Hey" She replied looking into his piercing blue eyes.

"The place looks great" he said shocked, "Did you do all this yourself" he asked.

"Yeah, well it was mostly Callie and Pete" Owen gave her a puzzled look, "The delivery guy, Callie bribed him with crab cakes to help out...nice guy" she muttered.

"Well, it looks perfect" he mumbled kissing the top of her head.

"How're you feeling" he asked moving his hand to rest on her stomach. She flinched and brushed his hand off.

"Not here" she whispered, as she took his hand in hers. "I feel fine, apart from random spurts of nausea and the fact I can't have an ounce of alcohol for the next 9 months" she rambled.

A few minutes later, Meredith and Derek walked up the stairs into the party.

Cristina caught sight of them and whispered under her breath, "What is she doing here?".

"Oh, I invited them" Owen replied looking up to meet Cristina's disapproving look.

She sighed and left him on the couch making her way in the opposite direction, in an attempt to avoid her as long as possible.

She went up to the roof, seeking some fresh air. To her surprise Alex was already up there.

"Hey" he said as she sat down next to him.

"What're you doing up here?" she asked.

"Avoiding April, I was kind of an ass to her. You?" he replied.

"Avoiding Mer" she muttered.

"What's going on with you two?" he asked concerned.

"Uhh...we had a fight. She was being all judgey even though I've always been there for her and then I might've told her I blamed her for my PTSD" she said growing quieter as she went on.

"Geez" he replied slightly taken aback.

"Do you?" he asked softly.

"I don't know, I know that I only did what I did because it was Derek...I know it's not right to blame her but she's fine. After everything that's happened she's fine. Everyone's fine and I'm all broken and it's not fair" she said spilling her heart out way more than she'd meant to.

Alex thought about what she said before responding, "We're not all fine you know." he said as she turned to face him, "Lexie asked a patient if she wanted her to shoot her, Derek had his whole driving really fast thing, Jackson wakes up screaming the house down every night...and I haven't been in an elevator since I got shot" He said softly.

"We're all messed up." he continued "And you're not broken...you had another shitty thing happen to you and maybe you're slightly cracked but not broken. You'll put yourself back together like you always do" he replied confidently.

She let his words sink in, slightly taken aback by how comforting they were.

"When did you get all philosophical?" she joked.

He laughed, "I have my moments" he replied, whilst looking out over the city.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while enjoying the crisp air.

"You know you have to talk to her, cause I'm not sure how many of these talks I have in me" he joked, getting out of his seat.

"I know" she muttered.

As Alex descended the stairs to the party, he caught sight of a head of blonde hair coming towards him.

"Hey, there you are" Meredith greeted him.

"Yeah," he said looking around at the room of unfamilar faces, "Who are all these people" he questioned.

"Haven't a clue" she replied. " The whole of Seattle seems to be here, apart from Cristina. I haven't seen her once" she noted.

"Oh, she's on the roof." he replied, "You two should make up, you need each other, no one else gets you two" he joked and walked away.

Meredith knew he was right, she made her way over to the stairs. As she ascended them, she saw her sitting alone at the small table.

She walked over and pulled the other chair out to sit down, "Hey" she said casually.

Cristina tore her eyes away from the city to look at who had appeared, she was surprised to see it was Meredith.

"Hey" she responded softly.

"That's quite the party you have going on down there" Meredith said trying to break the ice.

"Yeah" Cristina replied quietly.

"How're you?" Meredith asked, suddenly feeling slightly guilty for abandoning her friend in her current state of PTSD and impending motherhood.

"Very, very sober" she joked whilst looking into Meredith's familiar eyes.

Meredith laughed, "If it makes you feel any better, I can't drink either, with the whole hostile uterus thing" she joked.

A smile appeared on Cristina's face "It does actually" she admitted.

After a couple moments of silence, they both went to speak at the same time.

"You first" Cristina mumbled.

"I'm sorry for being all judgemental... I just didn't want to watch you throw your career away. But I'm on your side...I'm your person" she said softly.

"I'm sorry, I unloaded on you" Cristina began, "It's obviously not your fault, I just needed somebody to blame and you were an easy target I guess" she noted.

They both looked at each other and smiled.

"I missed you Cristina Yang" Meredith admitted.

"So, what are we supposed to hug now or something?" Cristina asked unsure.

They both burst out laughing.

Downstairs, the party had died down. Derek and Owen were the only ones left. They both collapsed onto the sofa and stared at the giant mess in front of them.

"Where the hell are our wives?" Owen asked, turning to face Derek, he hadn't seen Cristina in hours.

"Let's hope they're not off having a cat fight" Derek joked.

Owen chuckled, "Yeah, Cristina would definitely win that one" Owen said jokingly.

"Hey, Meredith's surprisingly strong" Derek argued.

"Well let's hope we never find out, that wouldn't be good for the baby" Owen commented.

"Yeah" Derek said, before realising what he'd said, "Wait what?"

"Cristina's pregnant" Owen said grinning.

Derek was completely shocked, "Congrats man" he said standing up to give him a man hug.

Just then they heard footsteps and chatter coming from behind them. They turned to see their wives with arms linked chatting away.

"You made up" Derek shouted as both men walked over to them grinning.

"Yeah we did" Meredith mumbled.

"I'm glad" Owen added.

"I heard the news, congratulations!" Derek said to Cristina.

Cristina elbowed Owen "You told him" she said giving him a piercing look.

"What, Meredith knows" Owen said defending himself.

"Yeah, cause Meredith's my person" Cristina exclaimed.

Owen smiled knowing she wouldn't be mad for long, "Well how do you know Derek isn't my person" he joked, linking arms with Derek to mimic their wives' position.

They all burst out laughing.

After Derek and Meredith left, Owen had spent an hour cleaning up their home. When he was finally done, he climbed into bed to join his wife.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she turned over to face him. She leant up to give him a tender kiss.

As she traced circles on his back, she looked into his eyes, "Who is your person?" she asked curious after his joke earlier.

He looked at her, and stroked her untamed hair which he loved, "You are" he said leaning down to plant another kiss on her lips. She smiled at his response and curled up closer to him.

 **Notes: Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry if it's moving too slowly, I'll try and pick up the pace a bit. Next chapter should be up soon :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Cristina awoke to rustling coming from the kitchen, she reached over in search of her husband's muscular body, but her arms landed upon an empty bed.

"Owen" she called out with a sleepy voice.

Owen stuck his head around the corner and smiled at her,

"Morning sleepy head" he said, moving over to give her a gentle kiss. The kiss became more passionate, as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

He abruptly pulled away and got up to leave, but she grabbed his hand.

"Hey, get back here" she said pulling him back towards her. He complied and resumed his previous position.

"The eggs are going to burn" he said between kisses, before pulling out of her grasp.

"I'm making you breakfast" he said smirking.

She followed him into the kitchen and watched him cooking, admiring him with a smile on her face.

"You need to start eating something more substantial than cereal" he said whilst dishing up the food.

"I like cereal" she moaned in response. But secretly she enjoyed how invested he was in making sure she kept herself healthy for their baby.

"You'll like this" he said placing the plate in front of her along with a cup of coffee.

They both sat down and dug into their home cooked breakfast.

Cristina took a sip of her coffee, "Eww, what is this" she said whilst making a face and pushing the coffee away from her.

"It's decaf" he replied, laughing slightly at her reaction. "You know caffeine's not good for the baby" he said.

She gave him a disgruntled look, "This sucks, how come you don't have to do any of this?" she asked angrily. "How come you don't have to do any of this baby carrying stuff" she rambled "Here I am, a human incubator who throws up everything she eats and is about to get really really fat" she said beginning to cry as she finished her rant.

"You might want to add emotional mood swings to that list" he joked, whilst passing her a tissue. She glared at him in response, taking the tissue from his hand and drying her tears.

"I'm sorry I'm not a woman Cristina" he said sarcastically, "But you're doing a really great job at it" he said trying to reconcile.

She smiled to herself at his comment and went back to eating her breakfast.

"So, what time is the appointment today?" Owen asked, with a mouthful of egg.

"Umm, 4" she replied. " You know it's okay if you can't make it, I really don't mind going by myself" she muttered avoiding his gaze.

Cristina had been worrying about this appointment since they'd made it a week ago. She knew that she had to go but was anxious that the pregnancy might be similar to her last, and so she'd put off making the appointment until Owen had made her.

She'd never told him about her previous pregnancy and didn't intend too, what's in the past is in the past. But she knew he had grown very attached to the baby and couldn't imagine the look on his face if they got bad news today, so she figured it'd be best if she could go alone. But realistically, she knew he would never miss it.

"Don't be silly, of course I'll be there" ,he said looking into her eyes, placing his large hand over her small one, giving it a gentle squeeze. He had noticed that she had been anxious about this appointment but just figured she was nervous about going back to the hospital.

After Owen cleared up their dishes, he had to leave for work.

"See you at 4" he said whilst planting a kiss on her check and quickly laying his hand on her stomach.

"Yeah" she replied quietl, caught up in her own thoughts, as she watched him walk down the stairs.

* * *

The past couple of weeks Cristina had finished her binge-watching session of teen dramas and she had now started to re-watch her surgery tapes, although she would never admit it to Owen because he would make a big deal of it.

Today, she was watching a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, but her head was still elsewhere. As she stared at the screen, her mind was racing with the 'what ifs' that could come out of this appointment. She cursed herself for allowing herself to get so attached to her unborn child. She was better than that, no one would think the great Cristina Yang could become so soft, but after many long late-night discussions with Owen, she was becoming really excited about their baby. Owen's enthusiasm was infectious, and he had made her feel at ease with the prospect of it all. Don't get me wrong, she was still scared out of her mind, yet she was looking forward to meeting her little kid and passing down her abundance of knowledge.

As she continued to internally freak out about the appointment, she did what she always did when she needed to vent, she phoned Mer.

She picked up on the 2nd ring.

"Hey Cristina" she greeted happily.

"Mer" she mumbled "I'm freaking out"

"W-why what's wrong" Mer asked confused.

"It's just Owen really wants this kid and you know I kind of do too, and he's already been through so much, this doesn't need to be added to his list" she muttered into the phone.

Meredith picked up on what she was talking about without needing to ask.

"Cristina" she said trying to soothe her, " You're a doctor...you know that just because your first pregnancy was ectopic doesn't make your second one any more likely to be" she said trying her best to get through to her.

Cristina took a deep breath, as she took in what she had said, she was right, she was overreacting, "Okay" she replied with more composure than before "You're right".

"Do you want me to come with you?" Meredith asked, fulfilling her duties as her person.

Cristina thought about it, she knew Owen probably wouldn't be thrilled about it, but she wanted her there.

"Yeah, you should come" she replied "you are the godmother after all!" she added.

Cristina could hear Meredith breath in sharply through the phone, "I am?!" she exclaimed.

"Of course you are" Cristina laughed.

"I'm going to have a godchild" Meredith shouted back smiling.

* * *

Cristina made her way through the familiar corridors of the hospital, receiving confused looks from nurses and doctors alike. When she arrived at the OBGYN wing, she checked in at the nurse's station and then took a seat in the waiting room. Neither of her people were there yet, but she was a few moments early. As she waited she glanced around the room at the other pregnant woman, all much further along than her. She gulped as she saw the size of them and realised that would be her in a couple of months.

Owen soon appeared beside her, snapping her out of her thoughts, "Hey" he said enthusiastically whilst taking a seat next to her and grabbing her hand. She glanced up to meet his eyes.

"Hey" she replied, leaning in for a kiss.

"How're you?" he asked, whilst stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I'm good" she replied.

" Oh, Mer's coming too by the way" she said as she caught sight of Meredith.

"What..why?" he asked confused. He was always slightly annoyed by how much Cristina relied on Meredith, but he knew they needed each other so he accepted it.

He didn't get an answer as Meredith appeared in front of them, "How's my godchild" Meredith asked reaching down to touch Cristina's stomach.

Owen coughed, "You're the godmother?" he asked, shooting Cristina a puzzled look.

"Of course she is. Who else would it be?!" she responded, they hadn't discussed it because she thought it was obvious.

"I don't know...how do you know I didn't have someone in mind?" he replied irritated that she would do this without discussing it with him.

Meredith and Cristina both started laughing and looked at each other, making Owen even more aggravated.

"Who?" Cristina asked still laughing.

Owen thought for a moment, "Uh...Teddy" he replied, making both girls stop laughing. After seeing the look displayed on Cristina's face, he immediately regretted it.

"Oh, so you want to ask the woman who is in love with you and tried to split us up, to be our baby's godmother?!" Cristina questioned baffled.

Owen squeezed her hand and took in a deep breath, "No... I'm sorry...forget it" he said gently, not wanting to start a fight.

He gave her a tender smile, which she couldn't stay mad at.

"If it means so much to you, you can pick the godfather" she said.

* * *

"Cristina Yang" called Dr Thompson.

All 3 of them jumped up and scurried into the exam room.

"Dr Hunt, Dr Grey... nice to see you both" he said as Cristina climbed onto the table. Meredith and Owen stood on either side of her.

Cristina quickly pulled up her shirt, revealing the slight curve of her stomach, she was ready to get this over with.

"Okay, this is going to be cold" he said, spreading the gel onto her stomach.

Cristina grabbed Owen's hand as Dr Thompson began to move the wand over her tummy. Owen smiled back at her as they all watched the screen in anticipation.

A strong, steady heartbeat echoed through the room, and a peanut shaped blob appeared on the screen. All three of them sighed in relief.

"That is one perfectly healthy baby" he declared. Meredith and Cristina made eye contact with each other and smiled.

Owen leant down to give her a kiss and she could see the tears in his eyes.

"That's our baby" he whispered grinning. She couldn't help but smile in response and pull him into another kiss.

Dr Thompson printed off three copies of the ultrasound and handed one to each of them.

"So, you're about 8 weeks along" he stated "you'll need to make another appointment for 4 weeks time" he said packing up his equipment.

He made his way for the door before turning around, "Try not to worry, there's no reason to believe this pregnancy will go anything like your last one" he added before leaving the room.

Meredith and Cristina simultaneously gasped, as Owen stood there with a look of sheer confusion on his face, not sure if had heard right.

Cristina quickly busied herself wiping the gel of her stomach and avoiding eye contact with him at all costs.

"Last pregnancy" Owen repeated quietly under his breath.

"Well I'm gonna go" Meredith uttered quickly. She mouthed 'good luck' to Cristina before running out the door.

"Last pregnancy?" Owen repeated louder this time. Cristina didn't look up, causing Owen's irritation to grow.

"Cristina!" he snapped forcing her to look at him. But she quickly averted her gaze back to the floor.

"W-what...did he say that?" she mumbled playing dumb, as she jumped off of the table.

"Cristina" he shouted again, "Cut the crap!"

She paused, looking into his familiar eyes which were filled with joy only minutes ago.

He grabbed her hand, "Just tell me" he continued.

She took in a deep breath and drew strength from him, "Fine. Yes..yes I was pregnant before" she admitted.

Owen began to delve deeper into the topic, but his pager had other ideas. He looked down at it.

"Ughh... I've gotta go." He said, anger still evident in his voice. "This isn't over" he said letting go of her hand.

She knew he was right, but she was secretively thankful for the interruption to put off the conversation. "Wait for me, I'll be done in an hour" he pleaded.

She didn't particularly want to spend another hour in the hospital, but knew she couldn't say no to him right now.

"Fine" she breathed, following him out the door.

* * *

Cristina found Meredith sitting in the waiting room staring at the ultrasound. She collapsed into the chair beside her.

Meredith gave her a sympathetic look as they watched Owen retreating down the corridor.

"How'd you get out of that one so quickly?" she asked.

"Saved by the pager" Cristina replied simply.

"How was he taking it?" Meredith asked.

Cristina began fidgeting with her rings, "He was pretty angry, but we didn't get too far in before his pager went off" she mumbled. "So, I have that to look forward to later" she joked.

Meredith looked back down at the ultrasound, "It'll be fine, it's in the past. He can't be angry with you for your past" she added.

Cristina merely nodded in response, as she copied Meredith in staring at the blob on the ultrasound. Her blob.

After moments of silence, Cristina stirred in her seat, "What're you doing now? I'm stuck here for the next hour." she asked.

"Oh, I was just going to go get something to eat" Meredith replied, getting out of her seat, "Come on, let's go" she said dragging Cristina onto her feet.

* * *

Meredith and Cristina stood in line at the cafeteria both lost in their own thoughts. Cristina absent mindedly stared at the 'Help Wanted' sign as she began to process how she'd breach this subject with Owen. He couldn't stay mad for long, it's not like she knows everything about his past.

As they approached the front of the line, the smell of today's casserole made her want to hurl, so she stuck with a salad and ginger ale.

They sat down at a table with Alex, Jackson and Lexie and it felt just like old times. They were all surprised but happy to see her.

After a few moments the conversation died down, and Cristina sensed that they were tiptoeing around her.

"You know you can talk about surgery... I don't care" she muttered to the group.

Jackson sighed in relief, "Great, cause you're not going to believe what Teddy let me do..." he began. He proceeded to ramble on about a complex surgery, Cristina was intrigued and followed the story word for word with the slightest underlying feeling of jealousy.

* * *

Cristina spent the next hour catching up on hospital gossip and hearing about cool surgeries her friends had been part off since she left. Until, a pair of familiar hand appeared on her shoulders.

"Hey, you ready to go?" he asked into her hair.

She looked up to face him and noticed that he looked less angry than before.

"Yeah" she said, getting out of her seat and waving goodbye to her friends.

As they made their way to the hospital doors in silence, Owen grabbed her hand. That's a good sign, she thought to herself, at least he doesn't hate me.

They couldn't go home together, as Owen was on call, so they made their way to the all too familiar bench at the front of the hospital. Where they seemed to have many of their big chats nowadays.

They sat down on the bench with space between them, but their hands still entangled.

"Ok, hear me out, let me just tell the story before you interrupt." Cristina began, taking a deep breath.

"I found out I was pregnant as an intern, I had been sleeping with Burke, but we weren't serious" she began. Owen visibly tensed at the mention of Burke. He didn't like to think of anyone else with 'his' Cristina.

"When I went to tell him, he broke up with me before I got a chance. So, I scheduled an abortion." She muttered looking into his eyes.

"But then It turned out it was an ectopic pregnancy, I collapsed during surgery with a burst fallopian tube" she added.

Owen instinctively drew her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her as she continued, "The She-Shepherd had to perform surgery on me. And afterwards I was a mess. Ask Meredith, it wasn't pretty". she finished.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it was in the past" she muttered into his chest as he stroked her hair.

"Cristina, I love you, and I want to know everything about you." he uttered. "Even things that you think don't matter. I want to know it all".

"Are you mad?" she asked cautiously.

He smiled at her, "No I'm not mad" he said, "How could I be mad at the woman who's carrying my perfect little baby." he joked, whilst placing his hand on her stomach.

She smiled at his response and leant up to give him a gentle kiss.


	6. Chapter 6

Over the next couple of weeks, Cristina was making steady progress with her PTSD. Her nightmares had subsided, she was feeling less on edge all the time and she was gradually becoming more like her old self. Which didn't go unnoticed my Owen, he had seen her gradually coming around, and was over the moon to see her starting to feel better. He could see her witty, sarcastic self coming back and every time she smiled he couldn't help but grin himself. He had missed her. She had helped him through his darkest days and he would do the same for her, as long as it took.

Cristina, was 11 weeks pregnant now, and had the slightest bump, it was barely noticeable to anyone but her and Owen. Owen marvelled at the change in her body, he couldn't keep his hands off her bump, even though there had been no movement yet, he was determined to feel it with her when it happened. Cristina still had the misfortune of morning sickness, almost every day, and had started to get the most peculiar cravings, which Owen readily ran off to get for her no matter what the time of day.

Cristina and Owen were sitting on their sofa as Owen rubbed her feet, he had just come home from work, and she had spent the majority of her day reading baby books, apart from her venture to the hospital to meet her friends for lunch, she had been doing that a lot lately. Owen smiled at her as she munched on her latest craving, peanut butter on pickles.

"I don't know how you eat that" he said teasing her.

"Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it" she retorted. She tried to force it into his mouth, but he swatted her arm away. He ended up with a face full of peanut butter and her pickle went flying across the room.

Cristina started laughing hysterically as she looked at his peanut butter covered face. He couldn't help but join in, he loved her laugh, oh how he'd missed it.

After recovering from their laughing fit, Cristina grabbed a tissue and wiped the peanut butter off his face, giving him a kiss when she was done. He wrapped her in his arms and enjoyed just being with her. He loved having her in his arms, it felt so natural. They stayed like that for a while, both lost in their own trail of thoughts. Owen was the first to break the comfortable silence.

"I was thinking, maybe we should start telling people" he said looking into her deep brown eyes.

She hadn't really thought about it, she'd told Mer and Callie and he'd told Derek, quite frankly she was surprised Callie had kept it to herself and it wasn't all over the hospital by now.

"Yeah if you want" she replied simply. "I suppose I could tell the rest of the gang at lunch tomorrow" she suggested.

He nodded, "Okay, I guess I'll tell Teddy and the other attendings then too" he agreed.

"As long as no one tries to hug me or feel my bump" she muttered. Owen laughed, he liked that he was the only one allowed to touch her tiny bump (well except for Mer of course.)

"I'll tackle them" he joked, earning a smile from his wife.

"I was thinking.." she began, her turn now to share her train of thought, "Maybe I should get a job, I can't spend the next 7 months just sitting around" she said softly.

Owen's heart leapt as he heard what she had said. "Your old job is still there waiting for you" he said, slightly too eagerly.

She shot him an apologetic look, "No, I was thinking about trying something else, you know less stressful" she uttered.

He looked at her sadly, at least she's getting out of the house he thought to himself.

"I asked Joe and he said I could work there" she added. She noticed Owen's expression quickly change to a look of horror.

"You want to work at Joe's?" he asked confused.

"Yeah" she replied simply.

"Cristina, you can't work at Joes!" he responded slightly concerned.

"Why not?" she asked confused.

"You're pregnant...and have you seen yourself, you'll get hit on all day" he added trying to talk her out of it with a compliment.

"It's not like I'm gonna drink, I'm not stupid" she replied angry that he would imply such a thing, "And I can look after myself" she added annoyed.

He rubbed her arm sensing her annoyance, "I didn't mean it like that. I just don't want you working at a bar" he said softly.

She looked at him still angry, but the look of concern he had on his face melted away most of her anger. He had been so good to her lately, she knew she put a lot of stress on him. She supposed if she could avoid adding more to it, that wouldn't be a bad thing.

After a moment of thoughtful silence, she relented, "Ugh.. fine" she said. "But I will be getting a job".

He pulled her even closer to him and kissed the top of her forehead, "Thank you" he muttered softly.

* * *

The next day, Cristina arrived at SGMW for lunch, she sat down at their regular table and caught the tail end of April's surgery story. When there was a break in the conversation she took it as her opportunity to spill her news.

She didn't quite know how to tell them, she tried to start the conversation in her head but each time it sounded too soft and that just wasn't her. She eventually got sick of mentally arguing with herself.

"I'm pregnant" she blurted out.

Every eye at the table turned and stared at her, and then came the varying reactions of her friends.

"Oh my god!" April shrieked, "What?! How far along are you?! Do you know the gender?! When are you due?!" she rambled.

At the same time Lexie began sobbing. "That's so cute" she said between sobs.

"Way to go Yang" Alex said patting her on the back.

"Wow" Jackson uttered simply as he stuffed more of his sandwich into his mouth.

Cristina sat there watching the array of responses and didn't utter a word. Her and Mer observed Lexie trying to compose herself and exchanged a knowing look with each other.

Across the room Owen was eating lunch at the attending's table, when they all turned to see the absurd scene the residents were displaying.

"What the hell is wrong with them" Mark asked.

"I guess this is my cue" Owen said looking over at his wife, "Cristina's pregnant!" he said with a grin.

Mark was the first to speak, "Congrats man!" All the others had shocked expressions on their faces but after Mark spoke they immediately expressed their congratulations.

"You're going to be a dad" Teddy exclaimed.

Cristina looked over at Owen and noticed the stunned faces surrounding him and figured he told his table too. She made her way over to him followed by her friends.

Owen put his arm around her waist when she got within reaching distance and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Listen up, cause I'm only doing this once" she said to the crowded table, "I'm 11 weeks, found out a few weeks ago, my due date is February 7th and no we don't know the gender yet" she said quickly with not a lot of enthusiasm.

When the open arms began coming towards her for a hug she pulled Owen up and shoved him into the embrace in her place.

She spent the rest of the lunch accepting congratulations and listening to Lexie go and about how perfect it was, until her friends finally all went back to work, and she headed home.

* * *

A few days later, it was lunch time once again and Derek was in line at the cafeteria. "Would you like the lasagne or chicken casserole" the staff behind the counter asked.

Derek recognised that voice, he looked up and to his disbelief he was met with the familiar face of his wife's person, wearing an apron, with a hair net on and holding a ladle. He instantaneously burst out into a fit of laughter. Cristina glared at him as he doubled over wheezing.

"Lasagne it is" she said shoving the plate into his shaking hands and ushering him along, tears still coming out of his eyes from laughing so hard.

Cristina had started working at the hospital cafeteria that morning. She thought it'd be easy work and she could at least still see Owen and her friends. What she momentarily forgot whilst taking the job was the ridicule and mockery she would endure. But still, she was determined to keep at it and besides, she was actually quite enjoying it. It was pretty simple, and she'd already made good friends with the chef.

Owen wasn't thrilled about her new job, but he knew he couldn't be picky or she'd take Joe's offer. Besides, she's Cristina Yang of Beverly Hills, he didn't expect her to last very long and at least he got to see her more. It was his turn in line now.

"Lasagne or ch...oh hey you!" she said as she caught sight of him.

He leant over the counter to give her a kiss, which lasted slightly too long, receiving them wolf whistles from down the line.

"Okay I'd love to keep doing this but you're holding up my queue." She said pulling away from him.

She dished up his food and he joined Derek at the table. As soon as he sat down he could tell Derek was amused by the situation.

"Cristina Yang is a lunch lady" he said still chuckling. Owen knew she would be teased but still felt bad for his wife.

"Hey, she tried to get a job at Joe's, so consider this a step up" he replied.

"Soon she'll get sick of it and when she does her real job will be waiting for her" Owen added convincingly.

The chair beside them screeched as Mark pulled it out to sit down, looking slightly annoyed.

"Your wife just spat in my food" he hissed at Owen. Owen laughed to himself, of course she did he. Derek once again resumed his fit of laughter.

"Well what'd you say to her?" Owen asked.

Mark was silent for a moment, "I may have made a few jokes" he said quietly.

As they continued to eat their lunch Owen tried to steer the conversation away from mocking his wife.

But when Meredith walked through the doors, that went out the window. "Hey, is Cristina coming for lunch today?" she asked Owen.

Mark and Derek started giggling like middle schoolers, "You don't know?" Derek laughed.

"Know what?" she asked confused.

Derek nodded towards her, "She's the new lunch lady" he said.

Meredith's jaw literally dropped as she caught sight of her person.

She began to storm in her direction, "Don't piss her off she'll spit in your food" Mark called after her.

Cristina caught sight of her stomping to the front of the queue "Oh god" she said under her breath.

"Cristina Penelope Yang!" Meredith shouted at her.

"That's not my middle name" Cristina retorted avoiding making eye contact.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she continued. She noticed that everyone was staring at her as she screamed at her friend.

"I'm working... now take your lasagne and shut your mouth" Cristina replied.

"Are you trying to commit social suicide?" Meredith asked pointing at her in a slightly hushed tone.

"Come on Cristina, that should be a scrub cap not a hair net, a surgical gown not an apron and a scalpel in your hand not a ladle." she finished.

"Meredith, I'm just trying out a job which isn't so goddamn stressful...when I make a cut here it's someone's lunch in my hands not their life" Cristina argued.

Meredith paused remembering she was supposed to be being supportive, "Well you look ridiculous" she said before turning around and leaving.

* * *

Cristina continued with her new job for several days, but between being constantly mocked and having to wash other people's dirty dishes, Cristina wasn't enjoying it as much as she had hoped. Whilst dishing up food she watched as doctors sprinted down the corridors no doubt about to deal with some guts and gore, and as much as she didn't miss the stress of having someone's life in her hands, she longed for the rush and exhilaration that accompanied it.

The thought of entering an OR wasn't all that scary anymore, she kind of longed for it. But Cristina being Cristina was too stubborn to admit it just yet, even to Owen.

She was sitting on the counter in the Cafeteria kitchen chatting to Barry the chef, whilst he did all her washing up. He was the only new co-worker that she actually liked, mostly because he let her try all the food he cooked.

The tanned middle age man was halfway through a story about his kids when he suddenly went quiet.

Cristina was snacking on a tray full of fries when she noticed his silence, she looked up to see him clutching his chest.

"Barry" she called out cautiously. He didn't respond but collapsed into a heap on the ground still clutching his chest.

 **Note: Sorry if this chapter sucked, I feel like it's kinda all over the place.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Barry!" she screamed again as she ran over to him, her doctor instincts kicking in.

She immediately started assessing him as best she could, he was unconscious and not breathing.

She started CPR and began to scream for help, she couldn't stop what she was doing but she knew she would need some help.

Owen was passing through the cafeteria to pick up Cristina and head home. He approached the kitchen when he heard someone screaming. His heart immediately sunk to his feet, is that Cristina?!

"Cristina!" he shouted as he sprinted into the kitchen.

He saw her kneeling on the ground sweating whilst administering CPR, "What's going on? Are you okay?" he asked frantically.

Cristina let out a sigh of relief when she seen him, "H-he had a heart attack. Go get a gurney." She instructed him.

He returned a minute later, and they lifted him onto it, she continued the CPR, her clothes now drenched in sweat from doing it for so long.

"Here let me take over" he said, she accepted and began to run the gurney down the corridor.

They ran into the first available room, followed by a team of nurses. They quickly hooked him up to all the machines.

"Charge to 300" Owen shouted, grabbing the paddles. "Clear!"

The room went silent. Until suddenly a heartbeat appeared on the monitor and everyone sighed in relief.

The moment of relief did not last long as Owen sprung back into action, "Page Dr Altman and get me an ultrasound machine." he ordered the nurses.

He placed the ultrasound over the heart and Cristina watched over his shoulder as the images displayed on the screen.

"Shit" they said in unison as they seen the damage to Barry's hear.

"Okay, book an OR and tell Dr Altman to meet us there" Owen shouted, whilst wheeling Barry out of the room.

He turned and to his surprise saw Cristina running along beside him.

"Cristina, you know where we are going?" he asked gently as they got into the elevator.

She looked up into his worried eyes, "I know, I want to help" she said softly.

Owen couldn't help but let a smile appear on his face, he grabbed her hand, "Okay, just let me know if it gets too much" he said cautiously.

She squeezed his hand in response, and then began to run again as the doors of the elevator opened. Oh, how she had missed this rush.

* * *

"What've we got?" Teddy asked as she entered the OR.

"43 year-old male..." Cristina begun. Teddy snapped her head up at the sound of Cristina's voice.

"Dr Yang" she said shocked, interrupting Cristina's rundown.

"You're back?!" she asked confused but smiling.

"Uh.." Cristina begun before being interrupted.

"Dr yang was with the patient during his heart attack" Owen explained " I hope you don't mind her assisting" he finished, shooting her a look as if to say 'you-better-let-her-stay'.

"Of course not, nice to have you back Dr Yang" Teddy said genuinely, she had missed her number one student.

Throughout the surgery Cristina fell back into the natural rhythm as if nothing had happened. She was completely focused on what she was doing, her abundance of medical knowledge came flooding back to her, allowing her to show off her skill to the ecstatic eyes of Teddy and Owen.

Owen was thrilled to see her back at it, he could see the sparkle in her eye return that had been missing. He watched her lovingly over the OR table and grinned at her under his mask, the patient had crashed twice and each time he looked up at her cautiously to gauge her reaction, but she had taken it in her stride and didn't even flinch.

After 2 hours in the operating room, Barry was stable and the surgery had been successful.

"Good work today Dr Yang" Teddy uttered as she headed to scrub out, leaving Cristina and Owen alone.

"Thank you" Cristina replied softly.

Owen discarded his gloves and made his way round the table to take his wife into his arms.

She smiled as he pulled her into a hug, "I'm so proud of you" he said into her hair.

He pulled down her surgical mask and gave her a tender kiss.

"And I'm not the only one" he said pointing to the gallery.

Cristina spun around to see Meredith and Alex along with the rest of her friends smiling down at her from the gallery.

She couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as she waved up at them.

* * *

Whist scrubbing out Cristina smiled to herself, she was back, she finally felt like herself again. She had just spent 3 hours in the OR without a single thought back to that horrific day, maybe she could finally put it behind her.

As she exited the scrub room Meredith was waiting for her, "There she is" Meredith exclaimed as she linked arms with her person.

Cristina smiled to her, "Well, how'd it feel?" Meredith asked curiously.

Cristina thought for a second, "It felt good" she replied softly.

"So you're back?" She asked excitedly.

Cristina laid her head on Meredith's shoulder, "I guess I'm back" she muttered smiling.

"Thank god, lunch lady was not a good look on you" Meredith joked

An hour later Derek and Owen found their wives in the resident's locker room, slumped together on the sofa chatting away in some sort of code language only they understood.

"...and then 'Pedia went apeshit on daddy's new bimbo" they overheard as they entered the room.

They stood unannounced and listened to their gossiping wives for a few moments.

"Did you understand a word of that?" Owen whispered to Derek.

"Not one" Derek laughed, making his way over to the twisted sisters.

"Nice work today Cristina" Derek said whilst pulling his half of the pair off the sofa.

"Thanks" Cristina smiled in response. Owen pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her.

Both couples stood with their respective partners all smiling. "We should have a dinner party" Meredith suggested excitedly.

"As long as you don't cook" Cristina joked receiving a playful nudge from Owen.

"You're one to talk" he retorted under his breath.

They all laughed except Cristina. "Let's keep the both of you far away from the kitchen" Derek said smiling.

They said their goodbyes leaving Cristina and Owen alone in the locker room.

Owen leant down and kissed her passionately.

"How's my favourite surgeon?" he asked playfully, enjoying that he could call her that again.

He pulled her into a bear hug, "Tired" she uttered against his chest.

He moved his hands down to her stomach, "And how's my little one?" he asked softly.

"It's what's making me tired" she muttered back.

He raised his head to look at her "It?" he asked slightly offended.

She laughed slightly at his response, "Well what do you want me to call it?" she responded defensively.

He laughed, "I don't know, but not it!" he replied.

"Well it is an it, it's not even really a baby yet it's kinda of just a blob."

He laughed again" Excuse me that's a future Harper Avery winner in there, not just a blob" he replied in mock annoyance.

They both started laughing. He picked her up and sat down on the sofa with her on his lap.

"Seriously though, what do you think it is?" she asked curiously.

He thought for a second," I have a feeling it's a girl, but I honestly wouldn't mind either way." He said softly, "As long as it's healthy." he continued.

She smiled up at him, "And smart" she added nuzzling into his neck.

 **Notes: Thanks for reading, sorry this chapter was a bit shorter, the next one is a long one ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

Cristina and Owen lay in bed on a rare morning off together. Cristina was now 16 weeks into her pregnancy and had a visible bump. She had been back at work for a few weeks, and things were going really well. She had fallen back into the swing of things and was fully enjoying being back. Her pregnancy hadn't interfered with her work much, apart from occasionally snapping at Kepner and the fact that patients often asked her about her bump. She hated sharing personal details with strangers, but thankfully she usually managed to be civil with them.

She had not yet felt any movement from the baby, much to Owen's dismay, but she knew it was normal and was trying not to fret about it. Owen had recently started talking to her bump and at first, she protested, but she actually quite liked it.

Owen and Cristina had spent their lazy morning off laying around and reading baby books.

"Did you know the baby is currently the size of an avocado " Owen noted looking up from his book.

Cristina paused, "Ohh I'd love an avocado right now" Cristina chimed in, getting a sudden craving.

Owen laughed, "You can't eat our child!" he joked.

"What, I'm hungry" she argued.

He placed a kiss on her check, "Fine, I'll make us something to eat".

Cristina watched him walking away with a smile on her face, "I'm gonna take a shower" she said.

Owen was busy in the kitchen when he heard the phone ringing, he ran over to get it noting the Californian area code as he answered.

"Hello" he said into the phone.

"Ohh, hello I think I have the wrong number" the voice on the other end replied, "Is this where Cristina Yang lives?" they added.

"Yes" Owen replied sceptically, "Who's calling?" he asked.

"It's her mother, who the hell is this?" she asked confused.

"Oh, hello Mrs Rubenstein, it's me, Owen" he replied.

The woman paused, "Owen" she repeated puzzled, "Who are you? Why are you at Cristina's place? And where on earth is my daughter?"

It was Owen's turn now to be confused, "I'm Cristina's husband, what do you mean?!" he replied.

The woman audibly gasped, "Cristina's married?!" she uttered.

* * *

Half an hour later, Cristina exited the bathroom with a towel on her head, she saw her husband sitting on their bed holding the phone in his hand, with a perplexed look on his face.

She walked across the room and took a seat on his lap, "Who pissed in your cheerio's'?" she joked trying to make sense of his stern look.

When he didn't reply she poked him playfully, "Owen" she said smiling.

"Are you embarrassed of me?" he asked her sadly, out of nowhere.

Cristina's smile fell off of her face, "What? Of course not, why would y.." she started before he interrupted her.

"Your mother called" he said simply, looking her in the eye. "Imagine how surprised she was to find out that her only child was married, when she didn't even know you were seeing anyone" he said raising his voice slightly in annoyance.

Cristina froze with her eyes bulged out, oh shit she thought to herself. "Owen, it wasn't about you. You don't know what she's like" she argued back.

He jumped up, brushing her off his lap," Yeah and who's fault is that?!" he shouted back.

"So, when you said that your mother couldn't make it to the wedding, you meant that she had no idea it was taking place!" he added irritated.

"Were you ever planning to introduce us?" he continued.

Cristina paused, "Yeah, eventually, but trust me you're not missing out on anything" she said sarcastically.

Owen didn't laugh but instead grew more annoyed.

"You didn't tell her about the baby, did you?!"Cristina asked suddenly growing panicked at the thought of having to endure baby talk with her mother.

Owen scoffed, "No but she'll find out on Thursday." he said matter-of-factly

Cristina's mouth dropped open, "You invited my mother!" she shouted at him, jumping off the bed.

Cristina's blood was boiling, if there's something you don't do to someone, in her opinion, it's invite their mother. She grabbed a pillow from the bed and chucked at him.

"What the hell Owen!" she screamed at him.

The pillow hit him square in the face, and in return he threw Cristina a look that could kill.

"I'm going to work" he stated coldly before turning and storming down the stairs.

After she heard the door slam she wandered into the kitchen, "Ughh what about my avocado!" she mumbled to herself, hungry but not knowing how to make herself a meal that wasn't cereal.

* * *

Meredith arrived at the resident's locker room to find her best friend angrily stuffing her clothes into her locker.

"Hey" Meredith greeted her.

"Hi" Cristina mumbled in response, taking a seat on the bench.

Meredith began changing into her scrubs, "What's wrong with you?" she asked her friend.

Cristina paused and made eye contact with Meredith, "Owen invited my mother" she muttered. If there's one person who understood the severity of that statement it was Mer.

Meredith gasped in response.

"He did not!" she exclaimed in shock.

Cristina nodded, "Oh yes he did" she uttered bitterly.

"What an ass" Meredith mumbled.

"He also found out that I that I never told her about him, and he's taking it to heart" she said annoyed.

Meredith sighed in annoyance for her person, "Ughh, men" she mumbled, taking a seat beside her friend.

"You guys are still coming tonight, right?" she asked slightly panicked. Meredith had been going on about throwing a dinner party for the last couple of weeks, and tonight was finally a night when all 4 of them had the evening off.

Cristina sighed, "Mer, what's gotten into you, you're not going all Martha Stewart on me, are you?" Cristina joked.

"Is it so bad to want to have dinner with my best friend and her husband. We never do anything just the four of us!" Meredith argued.

"Is it even a dinner party if there's only 4 of us?" Cristina questioned.

"Yes, and you guys are coming. I just convinced Derek to grill for us." she finished.

"Fine" Cristina sighed, "But I can't promise we'll be much fun, I'm not talking to him." she mumbled.

"Yay" Meredith shrieked ignoring the second half of Cristina's statement, "See you at 6".

* * *

Cristina had made it through the whole day without having to speak to her husband, she didn't know if he was still mad, but she knew that she sure as hell was.

Since she wasn't talking to him she had made Meredith remind him about the dinner party and arrange for him to meet Cristina in the lobby.

Owen descended the stairs and caught sight of her sitting waiting for him, she seemed deep in thought. A smile appeared on Owen's face at the sight of her before he remembered that they were fighting and changed his expression.

She stood up when she saw him and started walking towards the parking lot. He caught up with her, they walked a shoulder width apart and it felt weird for them not to hold hands but neither of them were willing to give in for this familiar comfort.

"Cristina" he called after her, but she didn't even acknowledge his presence. He laughed at how ridiculous she was being by not talking to him. Two can play at that game he thought to himself.

When they reached Owen's truck, he still went around to open her door for her but didn't utter a word whilst doing so. She smiled to herself at the fact that he couldn't help but continue with his chivalrous gestures.

Neither of them broke the silence throughout the drive to Meredith's house. They walked awkwardly together up to the front door, Owen went to knock but Cristina just let herself in.

They walked into the kitchen, where Derek was preparing some steaks and Meredith was sitting at the counter watching.

"Hey guys" Derek said when he saw them.

The tension between the two was easily visible and Derek and Meredith exchanged a knowing look, this is going to be a fun night.

"Hey Mer" Cristina said guiding them into the other room.

"Derek" Owen said at the same time clapping him on the shoulder.

Cristina and Meredith settled on the sofa, "So you're still fighting?" Meredith asked.

"Oh yes" she muttered in response, "I told you we wouldn't be great company".

Cristina sighed, "I could really use a drink right now" she mumbled, "I mean one drink can't do much damage."

"Cristina!" Meredith scolded.

Cristina frowned, "Geez it was a joke" she sighed.

She began drawing circles on her bump absentmindedly, "Let's talk about something else" Cristina suggested, "Don't you have any mcdrama?"

Meredith paused, "Actually I do, did you hear that Callie's pregnant with McSteamy's baby?!"

In the other room, Derek opened the fridge and grabbed two beers.

"Beer? "he said offering one to Owen.

"Oh yes" he replied taking the cap off.

"So, what's going on with you and Cristina?" Derek asked taking a swig of his beer.

Owen copied his action, "Ugh, I answered the phone to her mum this morning and she had no idea who I was." he said bitterly.

Derek laughed, "She didn't tell her about you." he mumbled laughing.

"Wait why is she mad at you?" Derek asked confused.

Owen paused, "Well she was never going to introduce us, so I invited her over" he uttered.

Derek nearly choked on his beer, "You invited her mum!" he repeated shocked but still laughing.

Owen nodded, "Why is that such a big deal?" he questioned confused as to why everyone was acting like he had done the unthinkable.

"Meredith and Cristina don't do well with mums." Derek explained. "Trust me, I've met her mum she has a valid point" he continued.

"Is it so bad for me to want to meet my mother in law?" Owen questioned puzzled.

Derek shook his head, "Not at all if you were in a normal relationship, but when you're with a twisted sister you have to be careful." Derek explained, "Sometimes they need a push in the right direction, if you want something to happen." he finished.

Owen nodded, noting Derek's abundance of knowledge on the two, "I'm just glad I'm not you" Derek joked.

Back in the other room, Meredith and Cristina were still gossiping about Callie and Mark. They were lying at either end of the sofa with each other's feet in their lap.

"So now they're going to all raise the baby together as some sort of modern family." Meredith babbled.

Cristina laughed, "I feel bad for Mark, those two are a handful."

"At least your baby will have a smart friend" Meredith added.

Cristina paused, "Their baby is being raised by 3 surgeons, so you're gonna have to help out to make sure mine is top of its class" she rambled.

Meredith laughed, "I'll help with yours if you help with mine." she commented.

Cristina froze, "Wait...What?!" she shrieked, sitting upright to look at Meredith.

Meredith grinned at her, "My hostile uterus ain't so hostile anymore" she joked.

"Oh my God!" Cristina shrieked, she jumped off the sofa and pulled Meredith up with her.

"You're pregnant too!" she gasped.

Meredith nodded in response, pulling her friend into a hug.

"Geez what'd they put in the water at the hospital" Cristina mumbled to herself.

Derek and Owen heard the commotion coming from the living room. Owen wanted to go find out what it was all about but didn't want to break his silence. He stayed outside to man the grill and sent Derek in instead.

After Cristina and Meredith had calmed down, they sat down on the floor together. They had been silent for some time, both processing their own thoughts.

"Cristina, we're both pregnant" Meredith said in a hushed tone.

"Yeah we established that" Cristina replied sarcastically.

Meredith continued, "We're going to have 2 babies this time next year" she said in a panicked tone.

Cristina sensed her panic, she had barely convinced herself that everything would be ok and now she was gonna have to do it for Mer.

She sighed, "Come on" she said extending her hand to help Meredith stand up.

"Don't think about it" she said walking towards the stereo, "Let's dance it out."

Derek walked in to the scene of both woman jumping around and dancing aimlessly around his living room.

He watched them for a moment before knocking to make his presence known.

"I hate to break up this dance party, but the steaks are almost done" he said.

Cristina turned the music off and they caught their breath.

"What was this all about?" he asked Meredith.

She smiled up at him, "I told her" she said simply.

Derek and Cristina made eye contact, "Congrats on the mcbaby" she said clapping Derek on the shoulder with a genuine smile on her face.

Derek smiled back, over the years he had grown quite found of Cristina, the whole saving his life thing helped too.

"Thanks Cristina" he replied giving Meredith a kiss on the check.

"I guess I should go tell Owen, you know keep him in the loop since you sure as hell won't tell him" he joked.

Meredith turned to face her after Derek left, "Can you two please just make up already so we can enjoy our meal" she pleaded.

Cristina paused, "I'm not ready to give in yet." she muttered.

Meredith sighed in response. "How would you feel if you were me Mer. I'm happy for you and he will be too but I'm not gonna give in first, he's made this a competition, and I'm not gonna lose." She said defending her.

Meredith rolled her eyes in response, "Come on Mer, you're supposed to be on my side."

"Ugh fine... I am, I am" she mumbled.

Derek and Owen appeared in the Kitchen with the steaks and they all sat down at the table.

"Congratulations" Owen said to Meredith whilst taking his seat.

Meredith smiled, "Thank you Owen" she responded.

Cristina and Owen were sitting beside each other, they made eye contact but neither uttered a word.

They all began eating their meal in an awkward silence.

"Are you guys seriously just going to ignore each other all night?!" Derek asked.

Neither of them replied.

Meredith suddenly remembered a similar situation a few years ago with Cristina and Burke.

"Oh my god this reminds me of that time..." She began but was interrupted by Cristina who coughed loudly sensing what she was going to say.

Owen gave them both a confused look, and the awkward silence returned.

"Oh, by the way, you guys are the first to know, so keep it to yourselves for now" Derek said, taking a sip of beer.

Cristina nodded, and Owen laughed slightly, "Don't worry Cristina wouldn't tell, apparently she doesn't tell people things" he mumbled.

Cristina glared at him, her anger was building, and she couldn't hold her silence anymore, "What is the big deal, your mother doesn't even know I'm pregnant yet." she shouted.

"Yeah, because she's been away" he defended, "But she knows that you exist" Owen scoffed.

Meredith and Derek sat silently watching the heated argument bounce back and forth between the two.

Cristina frowned, "Well you're not exactly the son of the year, you wouldn't even tell your mother you were back from Iraq." She hissed.

The room went silent, and Cristina immediately regretted that dig.

"Ummmm the steak's great" Meredith said trying to break the awkward silence.

Derek joined her in her attempt, "Did you see the game last night?" he asked Owen.

They continued their small talk about the game for the majority of the meal.

Until Cristina let out a loud gasp and started clutching her bump.

Owen's heart instantly sank, and he immediately jumped out of his seat, instantly forgetting about their stupid fight.

He went round to her side and crouched down beside her, "Cristina!" he shouted.

"Cristina what's wrong" he asked scared.

She paused and then grabbed his hand to place it on her small bump.

He instantly felt a light flutter against his hand and let out a sigh of relief.

A large smile spread across his face as he felt his baby move for the first time, and he looked up to meet her eyes.

She was smiling from ear to ear as well, and he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry" he whispered into her ear.

"Me too" she replied pulling back to give him a light kiss.

Owen stayed knelled down beside her with his hand on her belly for the next 15 minutes, patiently waiting for another kick and getting way too excited when he felt one.

"Ohhh did you feel that one" he gasped looking up at her.

She laughed at how endearing he was being, "Of course I did" she replied.

When there was a gap in the movement, and they had all finished their meal, they all got up to say goodbye.

"Thanks for dinner and congrats again!" Owen said to the couple. Meredith and Cristina hugged goodbye and they all parted ways.

Owen put his arm around Cristina's waist as they walked to his truck. He followed her around to the passenger side and give her a deep kiss before opening the door and helping her in.

They intertwined their fingers as Owen began the drive home.

"My mum's a meddler" Cristina began trying to explain herself in a more civil manner, "I don't tell her things because the more she knows, the more she butts in and messes it all up."

Owen squeezed her hand and nodded in response. "It's not that I didn't want her to meet you, or to come to our wedding, it's just that she would've tried to make it into something she wanted. She's good at making things all about her" she explained.

Owen understood that she had a difficult relationship with her mother and from what he had heard she was pretty justified, "Okay" he replied, "I'm sorry I invited her without asking you, but I want to meet her. I want to see where you came from and know more about the amazing mother it would take to make such a spectacular daughter."

She smiled at what he said, "Fine, but she's not staying with us." she said softly, giving in to his ocean blue eyes.

Owen stopped the car outside a corner shop and leant over to give her a kiss on the check, "I'll be back in a second" he said jumping out of the car.

"What are you doing?" she asked but he was gone before he could reply.

He appeared back a few moments later, with an avocado in hand.

"One avocado for my lady" he said handing it to her.

She smiled up at him and pulled him into a passionate kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

Today was the day Cristina had been dreading. This evening her mother would arrive in Seattle with Saul and they would all go out for a meal together. Even just thinking about it made Cristina run to the bathroom and hurl. Okay, maybe that was the morning sickness, but her mother definitely didn't help.

Owen stuck his head out from behind the shower curtain, "You okay?" he asked her.

Cristina sat up and wiped her mouth, "No, I'm not Okay Owen" she hissed back at him.

She had been in a bad mood all week and now that the day was finally upon them, she was ready to snap at anything or anyone that so much as moved, especially Owen for instigating the whole thing.

"I love you" Owen offered up sensing her mood and quickly retreating back into the shower.

After his shower Owen found Cristina eating a bowl of cereal in the kitchen. He went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a kiss on the check.

"Can we please cancel, Owen" she said in her most convincing and pleading voice that he usually fell for. But not this time.

"It's just 2 days" Owen replied softly.

"Come on, we could pretend that there's a family emergency" she thought for a moment, "I've got it...your brother was in a tragic car accident. It's perfect, she would be rude to intrude." she exclaimed as if she had just had a genius idea.

Owen laughed, "I don't have a brother." he replied.

"Yeah, but she doesn't know that!" Cristina mumbled.

"Cristina, I'm not killing off a fictional sibling, just so you can avoid seeing your mother for a little while longer." he said.

Cristina groaned in response.

Owen released her from his embrace and took a seat beside her and put on his most convincing face. Talking Cristina down was not easy but over time he had learned a thing or two about it. He now prided himself in being one of only two people on the planet who could do it, although it still wasn't easy for him.

"It's just 2 days" he began, "48 hours and then she'll be gone." he continued knowing that facts helped in persuading her, "Focus on today, all you have to do is go for a meal. One meal, that's all I'm asking of you. And I'll be there with you the whole time. Okay?" he finished with his best smile.

She looked up into his piercing blue eyes, "Okay" she mumbled quietly.

"But you owe me doughnuts" she added smiling.

He smiled back at her, "Whatever you want" he said giving her a soft kiss.

* * *

At work, Cristina was thankful to have back to back surgeries all morning to keep her mind off the upcoming wrath of her mother. She had just finished a valve replacement and left the scrub room smiling at her successful surgery as she made her way to 'the place with the food'.

When she got there, she picked up her usual salad and made her way over to her packed table of residents.

"Hey Yang" Jackson greeted as she sat down.

"Hi" she replied coldly.

"What's up with her?" Alex asked Meredith.

Meredith gave her a pitiful look, "Her mother's coming today." she stated.

Alex nodded his understanding, "Gotcha" he replied, he had met her last time she was here and didn't envy Cristina for having to put up with her.

"And?" April chimed in.

They all stared at her like she had two heads.

"I wish my parents would visit me" She added.

"What!" Meredith exclaimed.

"What's wrong with you?!" Cristina added.

"You like your parents?" Alex asked.

April was taken back by their reaction, "Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?"

They all looked at each other, "A mutual hatred of our parents is just kinda something we all have in common" Alex explained.

April was shocked, "You all hate your parents?!"

They all nodded in unison.

"Cristina's mum is overbearing, Meredith's is dead and her dad is an ass, same with Lexie and I don't know about Jackson..." Alex explained.

"My dad's a dick" Jackson chimed in.

"Really?" April said looking around the table, "That's so sad" she said in her high-pitched voice.

They all shrugged.

"What about you Alex?" She asked.

"Oh, my mum's a schizophrenic and my dad's a dead beat" he added.

April paused for a moment and everyone continued to stare at her fascinated by this new realisation, "I don't know what you want me to say guys, I grew up on a farm, we went to church every week and went camping together each summer, my folks are pretty great."

"So, no one ever slapped you or had an affair that tore apart your family." Meredith questioned genuinely shocked.

April shook her head, slightly confused at her statement.

"Even bright and shiny Izzie hated her parents" Cristina mumbled.

* * *

As lunch went on slowly everyone was paged away until only Meredith and Cristina remained.

"So, how's my Mcgodchild?" Cristina asked

"Good, I'm trying not to freak out, it's not like it was out of the blue. We were trying, it's just kind of a lot to take in."

Cristina nodded, "Don't worry you can't be any worse at it than your mother" Cristina remarked.

Meredith laughed, "Thanks Cristina" she replied sarcastically.

"Speaking of mothers, what time does yours get in?"

Cristina sighed remembering, "They get in at 5 and we're meeting them for dinner at 7" she replied moping.

"Want me to call you with a fake emergency" Meredith joked.

Cristina's eyes lit up, "Yes, Mer please."

"No fake emergencies" Owen said from behind them.

Cristina frowned, of course he had heard that.

Owen took a seat beside her, "The dinner will go great and you won't need an escape plan" Owen added optimistically.

Meredith's pager went off, "I gotta go" she said standing up, "Good luck with tonight...call me after" she said before running off.

Owen smiled at his wife, "What?" she asked catching him.

"You're pretty" he replied.

She laughed, "Stop trying to butter me up, I'm already going aren't I."

"I'm not" He replied, "You're just pretty."

She started to blush.

He looked down at her half-eaten salad, "Is that all you're eating?" he asked concerned.

"I'm fine" she sighed, "I'm not that hungry."

"Cristina, you need to eat, you're eating for two now." he said.

"That's so cheesy I can't believe you just said that" she joked.

"Owen, I eat fine stop fretting."

"You can't go into your next surgery with only a couple of leafs in your stomach, I'll get you something else." he said getting up.

She rolled her eyes as he returned with a hot dog and ginger ale.

"Eat up" he said placing them in front of her.

She took a bit of her hot dog and a sip from her can.

"Umm" she said licking her lips.

"Has the baby been kicking today?" he asked curious.

"Mmmhhhmm" she said nodding with her mouthful.

She swallowed, "It's playing a soccer match right now" she said.

His eyes lit up, "Why didn't you tell me! I've been sitting here the whole time" he said reaching under the table to place his hand on her bump.

"Owen, not here" she said looking around, she didn't mind Owen doing all that stuff at home but didn't want her colleagues to see and think she had gone soft.

Owen looked up at her, "No one's looking Cristina" he said pleading, he was a sucker for this kid already.

"Fine, just for a minute" She gave in, and guided his hand to feel it.

* * *

Owen and Cristina walked into the firehouse after work together, they had half an hour before dinner. Cristina went over to her dresser and started rummaging through her drawers to find something to wear.

She tried on every dress she owned but they were all too small on her now.

"Ughhh" Owen heard from the other room.

"What's wrong babe?" he asked walking over to her.

"None of my clothes fit anymore" she sighed, she was currently wearing a black knee length dress, which was now barely covering her bum, thanks to her growing bump.

Owen took her into her arms, "You look beautiful" he whispered into her ear.

She smiled and turned in his arms, "I hope this place isn't too fancy cause my bump has halved the length of this dress."

Owen laughed in response.

Cristina looked up at him for a moment, "Just so you know," she began, "My mum will quiz you on every detail of the renovation, don't be offended if she's more interested in it than you." she briefed him.

Owen nodded, bringing Cristina closer against him and resting his chin on her head as she continued, "And she's very honest, brutally so. And Saul is a man of few words, so don't think he doesn't like you just because he doesn't say much to you, that's just what he's like and.."  
Owen cut her off, "We'll be fine Cristina, come on we better get going" he said.

Cristina was quiet during the car ride to the restaurant, Owen had never seen her like this before. They pulled up to the small Italian restaurant and Cristina took a deep breath to prepare herself.

Owen went around and opened her door for her, he gave her a kiss on the check and grabbed her hand as they approached to the entrance.

Once inside, Cristina immediately spotted them. They were sitting by the window deep in conversation, probably about paint swatches she thought to herself. Owen felt Cristina's grip tightening on his hand and looked up to follow her gaze.

He smiled to her and placed an arm around her waist as he began to walk towards them.

"You've got this" he whispered into her ear before they got to the table.

"Cristina" Helen said as she caught sight of them.

"Hello mother" Cristina said reluctantly.

Cristina's mum looked her daughter up and down and scrunched her nose. "You look paler" she commented, "you've gained weight...And that dress makes you look like a hooker." she finished.

Owen frowned having heard Helen's criticisms of his wife, maybe Cristina wasn't exaggerating about her mother.

"Nice to see you too mother" Cristina mumbled rolling her eyes.

Owen squeezed her hand, "Oh Mum, Saul, this is Owen Hunt... my husband." she said.

Owen extended his hand, "Lovely to meet you Mr and Mrs Rubenstein" he said smiling.

Cristina and Owen took their seats.

"Nice to see you guys" Saul said.

It was Owen's turn to be inspected now. Helen gave him the once over.

"You're also very pale" she commented.

Owen smiled not knowing how to respond, "I guess" he said awkwardly.

"And ginger" she said.

Cristina rolled her eyes again, "Yes among other things" she said already growing irritated by her mother.

There was an awkward silence as Helen continued to stare at the couple.

Saul cleared his throat, "So how did you two meet?" he asked.

Owen was thankful for the ice breaker but didn't know quite how much to share.

Him and Cristina made eye contact before both replying, "At work" in unison not wanting to get into their unusual first interactions.

Saul nodded, "Ahh, so you're a surgeon too?" he questioned.

"Oh, not another one Cristina" Helen sighed.

Owen could feel the tension build inside his wife at that last dig, he could tell she was about to fire back and so rubbed her hand with his thumb in an attempt to calm her down. She took a deep breath and decided to let her mother's comment slide.

"Yes, I'm the head of trauma at the same hospital" Owen said replying to Saul's question.

Saul nodded, "And how's your residency going Cristina?" he asked trying to keep the conversation going.

"It's going great" she said, "I've gotten to preform a number of solo surgeries" she continued.

Owen smiled, "She's going to be an excellent surgeon" he said, taking pride in his wife.

"That's what I like to hear" Saul said smiling.

They continued to make awkward chit chat between the 3 of them with Cristina's mother remaining silent.

They were halfway through their meals and she still hadn't uttered a word, she just listened intently and occasionally made faces.

Cristina was midway through a surgery story when her mother interrupted, "Where was the wedding?"  
Cristina paused for a second, "Ughh, Meredith's house" she replied.

Helen gave a disapproving look, "The skinny blonde?"

Cristina sighed, "Yes the skinny blonde."'

Her mother nodded, "What was it like?"

"It was nice" Cristina replied vaguely.

Owen stepped in knowing Cristina wouldn't give the detail her mother was after, "It was very simple" He began, "Just close friends and a minister in the living room, but it was decorated beautifully and Cristina looked amazing...It was simple but perfect" he said smiling over at his wife.

Helen had a sceptical look on her face.

"Headcount?" she asked

"20ish" Cristina replied.

"Dress?"

"Red"

Helen gasped.

"Vail?"

"Nope"

"Vows?"

"We wrote our own."

"Reception?"

"We went to Joe's after"

Helen's face looked as though she had seen a ghost.

"Who walked you down the aisle?"

"Owen" Cristina said with a slight smile.

Owen and Saul sat and watched the exchange between their wives not knowing what was coming next.

Cristina's mother shook her head, "No" she mumbled.

Cristina was confused, "What do you mean no?" she asked.

"No that isn't a wedding" she began.

"I'll throw you a proper wedding in a church, with a rabbi. Saul will walk you down the aisle and we'll get you on this diet I just read about so you can squeeze into a nice white dress." she said matter-of-factly.

Cristina was speechless for a second, she couldn't believe that her mother was undermining her marriage and once again taking charge.

It was Cristina's turn to shake her head now in disbelief.

"No mother" she raised her voice. "I had a wedding and it was perfect do you know why, because you weren't there to stick your nose in." she shouted drawing some attention to herself.

"So no, you won't be throwing me your dream wedding, and I won't be going on your stupid diet because I'm not fat, I'm pregnant" she shouted getting up from her seat and storming off to the bathroom...

 **Notes: Hope you liked the chapter, I'm back at school now so it may take me a bit longer to update, but I'll try to post as much as possible :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Silence fell among the table as Cristina stormed away. Both Cristina's mother and Saul had a dumbfounded look upon their faces.

Owen had watched the whole thing unfold and it pained him to see Cristina get so upset, he now understood why Cristina tended to hide things from her mother.

"Excuse me" Owen said as he got up from the table to follow Cristina.

He made his way through the sea of tables to the bathrooms, he knocked gently on the ladies. But heard no response.

"Cristina it's me" he said with his forehead against the door.

After a second, he heard the click of the lock and slowly pushed the door open to find Cristina leaning against the sink staring straight ahead.

She was tense and had a blank expression on her face. Owen went over to her and wrapped her in his arms, she immediately loosened up a bit.

Cristina was on the verge of tears, thanks to her stupid hormones, but refused to let them fall, she sighed into Owen's chest and rested her head on his shoulder.

Owen stroked her back and waited for her to speak.

"She's so infuriating!" she mumbled.

He kissed the top of her head "I know" he replied reassuringly.

They stayed like that for a while, Cristina's small frame engulfed by Owen's larger one. Owen felt the tension disappearing from her body bit by bit.

"Do you want to go back out there?" he asked her after a while.

He felt her shaking her head against his chest.

"Okay" he said pulling away from her, "I'll go pay the bill and you can wait in my truck" he said looking into her sad brown eyes.

He gave her the keys and a kiss on the cheek and she went out the back way to his truck.

Owen made his way back to their table where Helen and Saul were looking just as stunned as before.

"We're going to head home, Cristina's not feeling too well" he said grabbing his wallet from his pocket.

"It's was nice meeting you both" he added whilst throwing some cash down on the table to cover their meals.

The couple watched him as he made his way out the doors.

On his way over to his truck, Owen pulled out his phone and dialled a number, there was one person who knew how to deal with mother issues better than anyone.

"Hello" Meredith answered

"Hey Meredith" Owen replied.

"Oh no, what happened?" she asked knowing Owen wasn't just calling to have a nice chat.

Owen paused, "Well...things got pretty heated at dinner, and she ended up telling her mother that she's pregnant" he informed her.

"Oh god" Meredith sighed. "Is she okay?" she asked.

"Ummm" Owen mumbled, "I'm not sure"

"Oh, is she staring straight ahead being super scary quiet?" Meredith asked.

"Ugh yes" he replied amazed by how well she knew her friend.

"Bring her over" Meredith replied.

"Okay, we'll be there in ten" he said before hanging up the phone.

* * *

On the drive to Meredith's, Cristina remained in her quiet state. Owen tried to talk to her but the most he could get out of her was a nod. He hated seeing her like this and hated even more that he wasn't the one who could help her right now.

He got out of his truck and went around to her side. "Cristina" he said as he opened the door.

She looked up into his eyes, "Yeah" she whispered.

He didn't quite know what to say so went with, "I love you."

The sides of her lips turned up into a slight smile.

She jumped out of the car and he held her hand as they walked up to the porch.

As they walked in they saw Derek sitting on the sofa, "Hey guys" he called out to them.

"Meredith's upstairs" he said to Cristina.

She nodded and took off up the stairs.

Owen took a seat next to Derek and let out a sigh.

"I take it dinner didn't go too well" he said.

Owen chuckled lightly, "You could say that" he replied.

Owen and Derek settle back onto the sofa together and engrossed themselves in the football game playing on the TV. They could hear the murmur of voices coming from upstairs and both wondered exactly what was going on.

Not long after, the voices stopped, and music came booming through the house accompanied with the patter of footsteps above them.

They both smiled at the thought of their wives dancing it out.

"I hope you realise we've got our work cut out for us now that they're both pregnant" Owen joked.

"Oh god" Derek sighed.

Upstairs Cristina and Meredith were dancing around aimlessly to their favourite album. After 3 songs Cristina collapsed onto the bed trying to catch her breath.

Her mind was somewhat cleared, and she was pushing all thoughts of her mother far far out of her head. She rested her hand on her small bump and took a deep breath in.

Meredith opened her eyes to see that she had stopped dancing and joined her on the bed.

"Feel any better?" she asked.

Cristina scrunched her nose, "Kinda" she said, "But now my lungs burn, this baby has made me so unfit" she complained.

Meredith laughed, "Oh blame the baby, you weren't exactly fit before".

"Let's just hope the baby inherits Owen's athletic abilities" she added.

"Well your baby is hopeless between you and pretty boy" Cristina joked.

"True" Meredith admitted.

"Let's hope it's perfect hair will tide it over" Cristina added.

They both lay there for a while think about how bizarre it was that they were having these conversations.

"So, are you and Owen going to find out the gender?" Meredith asked her friend.

"The doctor said we could at our appointment next week" She said, "Owen really wants to wait, but I don't know if I could bare not knowing".

Back downstairs the game had ended, and Owen and Derek were engaged in conversion about their upcoming parenthood. They both were extremely excited and couldn't talk about it enough.

"Wait 'til you can feel the baby move" Owen said, "It's incredible".

"I can't wait" Derek replied.

Meredith and Cristina smiled to each other as they descended the stairs and caught the tail end of their husbands' giddy conversation.

Owen stood up as soon as he seen Cristina and walked over to her, she smiled at him as he approached.

He placed his hands on her waist and studied her face, "You okay?" he asked her.

She nodded and kissed him in response.

Meredith went and sat beside her husband.

Cristina turned to face them, Owen stood behind her with his hands on her bump and his chin rested comfortably on her shoulder.

"Are yous all danced out?" Derek asked.

Meredith and Cristina nodded in unison both exhausted after their brief exertion.

"I swear you two are gonna dance those babies out" Owen joked, causing them all to laugh.

Cristina let out a big yawn.

"I guess we better head home" Owen said noticing how tired his wife was.

* * *

When they arrived home they both were exhausted and began getting ready for bed. Cristina squeezed out of her tight dress and pulled on her favourite one of Owen's t-shirts. She loved wearing his clothes from time to time, especially when she'd had a day from hell.

She climbed into bed and into Owen's waiting arms, he stroked her hair as she rested her head on his chest.

"Sorry dinner didn't go so well" he whispered to her.

She sighed, "I knew it wouldn't, I know what she's like"

Owen absentmindedly began drawing circles on her bump with his finger as he thought.

"Well I'm still glad I got to meet her" he said softly.

She looked up at him smiling slightly.

"Although, I still wanna hear baby stories, I can only imagine how adorably sassy you were." he said trying to lighten her mood.

She laughed lightly, "Let's just say if our baby is anything like I was as a child then we'll have our hands full."

Owen smiled picturing the little rocket their child would turn out to be.

"I hope she's just like you" he smiled, "Only maybe a little less stubborn" he added.

She swatted him jokingly in response, "Hey".

He pulled her even closer to him.

"She" Cristina said, "You said she".

"Did I?" he asked.

"You know if we found out then we wouldn't have to keep calling it an it" she said, "Plus we could decorate the room accordingly." she added convincingly.

He thought for a moment, "I like the idea of not knowing" he said, "It's like the surprise of a lifetime."

"But I hate surprises" Cristina groaned.

They bickered back and forth until they both fell asleep, Cristina wrapped in her husband's arms with his hand placed protectively on her bump.

* * *

Cristina got rudely awoken in the middle of the night by the strongest kicks she had felt yet. She tossed and turned uncomfortably trying to get back to sleep but had no success. She lay there with nothing to occupy herself with but her own thoughts. She couldn't help but replay the disastrous dinner she had just been a part of. Her mother was an expert at getting under her skin, that's for sure.

She had told her that she was pregnant. And now she could only imagine what unwanted, outdated advice she would throw her way. She could already picture her lecturing her on how she should switch to an easier specialty.

She was growing increasingly agitated just thinking about it. Awch, that one hurt, this baby clearly doesn't want me to get any sleep tonight, she thought to herself, it's not like I have to save lives tomorrow or anything.

She began to think about the little baby growing inside of her, her now pepper sized baby. She really couldn't stand not knowing the gender, she liked to be prepared. And not knowing made her feel all the more inadequate as a mother. She would have to figure out a way to convince Owen.

She still refrained from thinking about the baby post-birth too much, for fear of freaking out. She had come to terms with being pregnant and would even say that she's enjoying it, well apart from being kept up at night. But thinking about having the baby out in the real world where it wasn't safely stored in her womb out of harm's way, terrified her. She knew all too well how cruel the world could be and so refused to think too much about the things that could happen.

She did however occasionally allow herself to picture Owen with the baby. She could see him cooing over the cot or reading endless amounts of bedtimes stories. She knew how much of an amazing dad he would make, and she knew that he would fill in the places where she was lacking. They would make a great team.

As she imagined these scenes it suddenly dawned on her that they live in a 3 story fire house. Possibly the most unchild-friendly place out there. She glanced around at the steep staircase and deathly fire-pole and decided in that moment that they were gonna have to move. Staying here would give the universe too many opportunities to throw some more tragedy into their life.

She reached over Owen trying to reach her laptop to look into houses, she balanced herself carefully over him trying not to wake him. She nearly had it, when he stirred in his sleep, throwing her off balance and sending her flying off the side of the bed onto the floor.

Owen woke up hearing the thud, "Cristina!" he said concerned as he seen her laying on the floor.

"Are you okay?" he asked rushing to her side.

She started laughing.

"Ouch" she mumbled.

"What happened?" he asked still confused as to how she ended up on the floor.

"I fell off the bed, trying to reach your stupid laptop" she said between laughs.

He sighed in relief seeing she clearly wasn't hurt.

"Did you hurt yourself?" he asked laughing slightly with her.

"I don't think so" she said.

He extended his hand to help her up, "Good" he said as he pulled her to her feet.

They climbed back into bed together, "What were you doing up anyway?" he asked.

"The baby wouldn't let me sleep." she said as he pulled the covers back up over them.

She scooted closer to him and layed her head on his shoulder.

"You should have woken me" he said.

She smiled, "Anyway, I was just about to look for a new house." she said.

He looked at her sideways, "You wanna move?" he asked confused.

"Yeah" she began, "This place is too dangerous."

He knew she was right, but he loved this place. "I guess, but this place is so special." he said sadly.

She looked into his ocean eyes, "I know I love this place too, but we'll find a better, safer one" she said.

"Okay" he said giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Maybe we could have a yard" he added excitedly.

She smiled at how easily persuaded he was.

He felt the strong kicks that she was talking about against his hand and sat forward to talk to the bump.

"I know your excited in there buddy, but you need to let her sleep" he began, "We love you, but nobody wants to have to deal with you mummy when she's grumpy" he joked giving her bump a kiss before returning to his previous position.

After a moment, the kicks had stopped.

"I think it worked" Cristina whispered.

Owen smiled, "Good, now get some sleep." he said softly.

Cristina was drifting off when Owen interrupted her, "Cristina" he whispered.

"Mmmhhmm" she mumbled sleepily.

"Wake me up next time before you break your back."

"Mmmm" she mumbled nuzzling into his neck.

 **Notes: Hope you like the chapter, I'll try post the next one soon and delve more into Helen and Saul's reaction :)**


	11. Chapter 11

Cristina woke up the next morning with a throbbing pain coming from her backside.

"Ouch" she moaned as she squirmed in bed.

Owen woke up hearing her, "What's wrong" he asked rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"I think I've broken my ass" she moaned.

Owen couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey" she slapped him playfully, "It's not funny."

"It kind of is" he said still laughing.

Cristina moved to the edge of the bed and gingerly climbed out, as she did so Owen caught sight of a nasty looking bruise which was the culprit of her pain.

"Ohhh" he gasped, "that looks sore."

He climbed out of bed and ran over to the kitchen in search of something.

He returned with some painkillers and a glass of water.

"Here take these" he said handing them to her.

"Thanks" she murmured shoving the pills down her throat.

They made their way back into the kitchen.

"I'm starving" Cristina said taking a seat at the counter.

Owen smiled, "Breakfast coming right up" he said before busying himself in the kitchen.

A while later there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it" Cristina said.

She walked down the stairs wincing with each step, when she reached the bottom she stood on her tip toes to see through the peep hole.

When she saw who it was she groaned loudly, so loud that Owen heard it from upstairs.

"Who is it?" he asked from the top of the stairs.

Cristina had her back rested against the door, and had no intention of opening it.

"Cristina open the door" Owen said as he descended the stairs.

He took a look for himself and saw Helen Rubenstein standing nervously beside her husband Saul.

Another knock came through the door.

Owen turned to her, "Come on, you can do this" he said turning the lock.

The door swung open and Owen turned Cristina around to stand beside him. A similar picture was reflected as Saul pushed Helen forward to talk to her daughter.

"Good morning" Owen greeted the pair.

"This is a lovely place you've got here" Saul said peering in.

"Thank you" Owen replied. An awkward silence fell upon them as Cristina avoided eye contact with her mother.

Saul began whispering to his wife, "Don't you have something to say honey" he nudged her.

Helen reluctantly began to speak, "I'm sorry" she said quietly.

She looked into her daughters eyes trying to gauge her reaction but as per usual Cristina was impossible to read.

"And" Saul said trying to get her to elaborate.

Helen sighed, "And I shouldn't have tried to meddle, but I'm hurt that you didn't invite your own mother to your wedding let alone tell her you were pregnant."

All eyes were on Cristina now, Helen had done her bit and now it was her turn.

She sighed and pushed the door open more, "Come in Owen's making breakfast."

Helen and Saul were surprised but quickly obliged.

Cristina led the way up the stairs and quickly pulled on some more clothes.

Helen took her time walking up the stairs, she looked around every inch of the place, making observations.

"Is this the original floor?" she asked.

"Yes it is" Owen replied.

She began walking through every room her face displaying her thoughts on what she saw.

Cristina, Saul and Owen stood and watched her Owen continued answering the questions she threw his way.

"You did all the renovations yourself?" she asked Owen.

"Yes, it took a while, but we're finally happy with it." he answered, "Although we won't be staying much longer" he added.

Cristina shot him a look, they had barely even talked about it themselves never mind with her mother.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Oh because of the baby, we love this place but it isn't the safest" Owen replied giving Cristina a sympathetic look.

Helen nodded in response getting distracted by their furniture.

She moved into the bedroom, and picked up a framed picture on their dresser.

It was of Cristina and Owen on their wedding day.

Cristina watched her intently not sure how she would react.

She started to trace the picture with her finger, "I don't hate your dress" she said quietly.

Cristina approached her and stood beside her, "Thanks I guess."

"Owen looks nice in a tux" she adds still staring at the picture.

Cristina smiles looking over at Owen who is chatting with Saul.

"That he does" she replies.

Helen turns to look at her daughter setting the frame down, "You look happy" she comments.

Cristina pauses, "I am happy" she says placing her hand on her swollen belly.

Both women walk back over to join their husbands for breakfast in the kitchen.

Cristina walks round to Owen and he gives her a quick kiss and places his arms around her.

Helen observes them from the other side of the counter.

She almost doesn't recognise her daughter, she can't think of the last time she has seen her this happy, perhaps it was before her dad died.

"You're good for her" she says to Owen.

"She let's you touch her and she's different around you, good different. You make her happy."

Owen was taken aback, a smile grew upon his face, "Thank you Mrs Rubenstein, she makes me the happiest man in the world."

Cristina smiled at how cheesy he is and he places his hand on her bump.

Helens eyes followed his hand.

"I can't believe my Cristina is pregnant." she said smiling.

Cristina was surprised she didn't quite expect a positive reaction from her mum.

"I can't quite believe it either" she replied honestly.

"I'm going to be a grandmother" she said softly.

"How far along are you?" she asked her daughter.

Cristina smiled for some reason she didn't expect her mother to be excited for her, "Umm I'm nearly 18 weeks" she replied.

Helen stared at her belly, "Can I feel?" she asked.

Cristina scrunched up her nose, she only felt comfortable with Owen and Meredith touching her bump, "I guess" she said reluctantly.

Her mother placed a hand on bump and grinned. Afterward she caught Cristina off guard and brought her into a hug.

This was weird for them, they never hugged but here they were, it's not like Cristina had much say in it.

As she pulled away Helen whispered in her ear, "I like Owen, he knows how to decorate."

Cristina couldn't help but laugh, her mother had never openly liked anyone that she was in a relationship with before. But then again how could you not like Owen, he is pretty perfect she thought to herself.

They spent the rest of the morning eating breakfast and sharing comfortable small talk.

Owen got out photo albums and showed them their wedding photos as well as their recent ultrasounds.

Cristina was happy to be getting along with her mother.

Before they left to catch their plane back to LA, they made an agreement that Cristina wouldn't hide any more major life moments from her mother anymore and that Owen would call them as soon as their grandbaby was born. She also made Cristina promise to let her help with decorating their new place, Cristina had agreed to it mostly just to keep her sweet and get her to leave.

* * *

Cristina breathed a sigh of relief when Saul and Helen finally left, she was glad to get rid of them, but she had to admit it was nice to be getting along with her mother.

She and Owen had taken the morning off to spend with them but they now had to go to their shifts and they had their second ultra sound this evening, which Owen was most excited about.

"Told you it wouldn't be too bad" Owen said as they drove to the hospital.

"I'm good with mothers" he added.

She laughed at his cockiness.

He smiled over at her, "Of course you are" she said rolling her eyes.

"Don't forget about the appointment tonight at 6" he reminded her as they pulled into the hospital car park.

"I would never, I can't wait to find out the gender." she said.

Owen sighed "Cristina, I thought we decided we were going to wait."

She turned to face him, "You decided we were going to wait" she argued, "I decided that I want to know."

As Owen was about to dispute her his pager went off, "We'll talk about this later." he said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before rushing off to the pit.

* * *

Meredith laughed as she seen her friend limping down the corridor, "Oh please don't tell me you got another burn." she said laughing.

Cristina glared at her, "No I fell out of bed" she said eliciting more laughter from Meredith.

"Want to hear something even more hilarious?" she asked her friend.

"Always" Meredith replied.

"I think I might be starting to like my mother" Cristina said quietly.

Meredith raised her eyebrows in surprised but stayed quiet to let her continue.

"She showed up this morning and wasn't a total ass, I mean I don't want to see her again anytime soon, but I guess she's not the worst."

Meredith smiled at her, "How very un-dark and twisty of you" she joked.

They started walking down the corridor together and Lexie caught up with them. She frowned when she seen Cristina waddling, "Oh no not another one" she said.

Cristina rolled her eyes, "I do not have another burn" she said slightly too loudly, drawing attention towards her from all the nurses near by.

* * *

By the time 6 o'clock rolled around, Cristina hadn't seen Owen all day. She had spent her afternoon in surgery with Dr Bailey and had heard of multiple large traumas which must have kept Owen busy.

She sat in the waiting room of the OBGYN floor watching the clock, she knew it must be really hectic in the pit for Owen to be missing their appointment. She wasn't annoyed with him, she would do the same thing, she just felt bad because she knew how he must be feeling. He had been looking forward to it since their first ultrasound and she knew he would feel guilty for missing it.

Her name was called, and she gave one last glance at the doorway before heading in.

"No Dr Hunt today?" the doctor asked.

She got settled on the exam table, "No he must've got held up" she replied.

"Well let's take a look at your baby" the doctor said placing the jelly on her stomach.

The doctor watched the monitor for a while, making Cristina grow anxious and suddenly wish Owen was there to hold her hand.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

The doctor smiled over at her, "Oh yes, that's one healthy baby."

Cristina sighed in relief.

"Would you like to know the gender" she asked.

Cristina froze, she knew she shouldn't.

She went to say no, but that wasn't what came out.

"Yes."


	12. Chapter 12

Cristina exited the exam room and stood with her back to the door, a small smile on her face. She rested her hand on her stomach for a brief moment as she looked at her new ultrasound picture. She felt a whole new connection to the little baby inside her now that she knew the gender.

Soon her smile faded, and she was hit with an overwhelming wave of guilt. She hadn't intended on finding out without Owen, but the opportunity arose, and she said yes without even thinking it through. "Oh shit" she said under her breath as she realised what she had done.

She knew that Owen wanted to wait, and he wouldn't be happy that she found out, especially when he was not present. Her mind whirled through the possible scenarios that might happen. Perhaps he wouldn't care. Nah, who is she kidding of course he would.

She realised she was getting odd looks as she stood in the OBGYN department looking frazzled. She began walking towards the elevators to head back to the surgical floor.

As she waited for the elevator Callie appeared beside her,

"Fancy seeing you here" Callie said.

Cristina smiled thoughts still churning through her head, "Ultrasound appointment" she said simply.

Callie nodded, "Me too" she said reaching into her bag to her pull out her scan.

Cristina smiled as she showed her the picture.

"What's up with you?" Callie questioned sensing Cristina lack of enthusiasm.

Cristina sighed, "I did something" she said as they both got in the elevator.

Callie nodded, "Care to elaborate?"

"Uhm, I kind of found out the gender without Owen when I knew he didn't want to know, and now he's gonna be really mad and probably disown me." she began rambling "I guess I better start reading up on single parenting."

Callie laughed slightly at the situation, "Oh" she said simply.

Cristina scoffed, "That's all you have to say?" she questioned in a slightly raised voice.

"Well that was kinda shitty of you" she said getting a disapproving look from Cristina.

"Look, he's not going to disown you" she began, "Of course he'll be annoyed but it's Owen Hunt we're talking about, he's smitten with you, there's no way he could stay mad for long." she said trying to reassure her.

Cristina groaned loudly and pulled her fingers through her hair, "You're lucky you know" she said pointing at Callie, "If you piss off Arizona your baby still has 2 parents."

Callie laughed at her comment, "Yes... I guess I am."

"So. you think I should tell him that I know?" Cristina asked her.

Callie laughed again, "Of course you should tell him. Not telling him makes this situation 10 times worse."

The elevators doors opened, and Callie stepped out, "Good luck" she called over her shoulder.

The sound of Cristina's pager filled the elevator, she sighed as she seen she was being paged to the pit.

* * *

She made her way down to the pit carefully trying to avoid Owen. By the time she got there the chaos had died down but everyone looked exhausted, so she could tell it had been a long day.

She caught sight of a familiar head full of red hair and quickly crept past him while he had his back turned. She stood by the nurse's station and Teddy appeared beside her, "Yang, consult bed 3" she said as she began walking over to it.

Cristina was thankful that it wasn't Owen who paged her, she followed behind Teddy quickly. Owen caught sight of her, but she avoided eye contact and conveniently pulled the curtain around the bed and began her consult with Dr Altman.

After consultation it was clear that their patient needed immediate surgery. Cristina pushed the patient's bed through the ER, she was thankful to have a surgery to distract herself for a few hours and put off talking to Owen.

As they passed a trauma room Owen and Cristina briefly made eye contact, she smiled at him but continued walking, hoping he wouldn't rush after her. Thankfully he didn't.

* * *

Owen was feeling awful for missing their ultrasound appointment, he had tried to get someone to cover for him, so he could attend but it was all hands-on deck. He really wanted to see Cristina to apologise and find out how it went, but she seemed to be in a rush every time he caught sight of her, he just hoped she wasn't mad.

He waited 'til her surgery was over and then paged her to an on-call room. He lay down as he waited for her, his hectic day taking a toll on him and causing his eyelids to droop.

Cristina took a deep breath before opening the door of the on-call room, she smiled as she seen his sleeping form in the dark. She walked over to the bunk and climbed over him to lay beside him.

Her movement awoke him, "Hey you" he said smiling as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

She smiled and leaned in for a quick kiss, "Hey" she replied.

Owen placed a hand on her swollen belly, "I'm sorry I missed our appointment" he said frowning.

She gazed into his blue eyes and stroked his cheek, "It's okay" she said smiling, "It was just like the last one."

He sighed softly, "But still, I wanted to be there."

"Did everything go okay?" he asked.

"Yep" she replied, "Baby's all healthy."

"Good" he said giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Do you have a picture" he asked optimistically.

"Oh, yes" she said as she reached into her pocket.

She handed him the sonogram and a big teethy smile grew on his face as his finger traced over it.

He pulled her even closer to him "That's our baby" he said into her neck.

She smiled and laughed as his breath tickled her neck.

She loved seeing him this happy and she wished she didn't have to take that away from him. Maybe he doesn't need to know she thought to herself. No stop it, you have to tell him she corrected herself.

Owen was laying on his side gazing at her lovingly. He noticed her frown lines and smoothed them out with his thumb.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She sighed, "I have to tell you something."

"Okay" he said with a confused expression, "Shoot."

"But first, remember that you love me and... and uhm take another look at the ultrasound" she said holding it in front of his face.

He pushed the photo down to look at her, "Cristina just tell me" he said.

"I found out the gender" she said quickly, ripping off the band aid.

Owen's soft expression vanished and turned to one of anger as he extracted his arms from around her.

"You what?!" he asked hurt audible in his voice.

Cristina looked at him apologetically not knowing what to say.

"Cristina, we said we were going to talk about this" he said raising his voice and getting off the bed.

Cristina went to apologise but he cut her off.

"You're unbelievable." he said before storming out of the room.

Cristina sighed as she took her head in her hands. She looked up at the door which he had just slammed and her eyes began to fill with tears, she silently cursed her hormones and grabbed a tissue from the nightstand.

* * *

Cristina left the residents locker room ready to go home and put this day behind her, she didn't know where Owen had run off to and also didn't think he would really want to give her a lift, so she decided to walk home. As she began her journey she cursed herself for not wearing a coat this morning. The sharp wind ripped through her as she walked the streets wearing just a long sleeved t-shirt. As she walked she thought about Owen, she hated it when they fought, but it was her fault this time. She understood that he would be upset and frankly she wouldn't blame him if he didn't come home tonight.

She began shivering and rubbed her arms in an attempt to keep warm. She passed a large group of drunks who whistled at her, she hated how uncomfortable and unsafe she felt walking the streets alone at night.

When she was around halfway through her journey, her hands were numb and her teeth were chattering, a car's headlights came up behind her and stopped.

She turned around in curiosity and was surprised to see Owen's blue truck pulling over beside her.

He wound down the window, "Cristina, get in" he ordered.

She obliged, too cold to care how awkward the journey may be. When she got in Owen looked over at her shivering form.

"What's the hell is wrong with you that you decided to walk home in the freezing cold?" he asked while turning the heating up to full blast.

She held her hands over the air duct as the air blew out, "I thhhhouugght youuu'd bee too maddd too givveee meee a liftttt" she said with chattering teeth.

Owen frowned and looked over at her, he was still mad but it sadden him how she expected that from him. "You're my wife, of course I'm going to give you a ride home" he said astonished. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shaking shoulders.

He began driving again, "God, it's like you're asking to get hypothermia or be murdered." he said.

They drove in silence for a few moments, he noticed that her teeth had stopped chattering but she was still shivering.

"What were you thinking?" he asked again as he reached over to pull his jacket around her more.

"I was thinking that you were angry, and that you wouldn't want to see me." she said. "I just didn't realise how bloody cold it was" she added softly.

Owen sighed as he realised that she was clueless to how this worked "Cristina, just because I'm mad doesn't mean I'm going to disown you. That's not how it works, we're married so even if we're fighting I'm still going to be there to take you home."

Cristina smiled over at him, "Okay" she said quietly as she questioned how she got a man as good as Owen Hunt.

* * *

Once they got home, they didn't talk much, Cristina ran herself a hot bath and Owen cleaned up around the place. When it was time for bed they still hadn't spoken and so Cristina thought it'd be best if she slept on the sofa to give him some space.

As she made up her bed for the night he came over to her, "I'll take the sofa" he said softly as he took the pillow from out of her hand.

"No, I'm the one who messed up, go to bed" she argued trying to pry the pillow back out of his hands.

Owen looked at her with his no-nonsense face, "You're growing a baby you still get bed privileges" he said in a softer tone.

Cristina relented, "Fine...Well, good night I guess" she said awkwardly.

"Goodnight" he said with a softer impression on his face as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

As she climbed into bed it felt huge without him there. She immediately missed the feeling of his arms around her and the light sound of his breathing by her ear. She tossed and turned trying to get comfortable without him there.

After half an hour, she lay awake thinking how stupid it was that they were sleeping apart, she missed him even though they were under the same roof.

She climbed out of bed and tiptoed into the living room, she approached the sofa trying to see if he was still awake, he was.

He turned and looked at her and she smiled sheepishly, he returned the smile .

"The baby missed you" she said, not admitting that she couldn't sleep without him.

He opened his arms and smiled as she climbed onto the sofa and lay on top of him.

"I couldn't sleep either" he said into her hair.

She gazed up at him.

"I'm sorry" she said after a moment of enjoying having him close.

"I don't know why I did it, you weren't there to stop me and I really wanted to know" she said softly. "I know I shouldn't have, it was selfish."

Owen looked into her eyes, it was rare to get such a sincere apology from Cristina.

"Okay" he said accepting her apology.

She looked up at him lovingly and gave him a soft kiss.

"I love you" she said into his neck.

He smiled down at her, "I love you too."

"So you know?" Owen asked as he looked into her deep brown eyes.

She smiled lightly, "I do."

"Do you still not want to know?" she asked.

He thought about it, having her know and him not would torture him but he still liked the idea of it being a surprise.

"No" he said.

"Okay" she said, she didn't know how she was going to keep it a secret. She was bound to let it slip, after all she tells him everything.

"Are you happy about it?" he asked her.

"Yes" she replied smiling.

"Was it a surprise?"

"Kind of"

"Are..." she cut him off.

"No more questions... you don't want to know" she reminded him.

Owen sighed, ugh this was going to be torture.


	13. Chapter 13

It had been one week, and so far Cristina had managed to keep the gender a secret from Owen. She had nearly slipped up a number of times, but had caught herself just in time.

She stood at the nurse's station surrounded by charts. She had been signing them for what felt like forever and yet the pile seemed to be never ending. She groaned as she closed one chart and opened another.

"Having fun?" a voice came from beside her.

It was Mer, "No, I feel like my hand is about to fall off." She complained.

Meredith laughed at her mellow dramatic friend, "Wanna hear something to cheer you up?"

Cristina turned to face her, "Yes" she said still scribbling away.

"Me and Derek are throwing a Halloween party!" Meredith said smiling.

Cristina stopped writing and looked up at her friend, "Seriously Mer." Cristina sighed.

"Yes, seriously. What's wrong with that." Mer questioned.

Cristina sighed, "We're not really Halloween people. I mean we're dark and twisty all year round, we don't need a day dedicated to it."

"Well tough, you're coming" Meredith said matter-of-factly .

Owen was walking down the corridor when he seen his wife chattering away at the nurse's station. He smiled at her from afar and then swooped in to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey" Cristina said smiling at him.

Meredith immediately turned around at the sight of Owen.

"What's up with her?" Owen asked referring to Mer's unusual behaviour.

Cristina laughed, "Oh, it should be known that Mer is the worst at keeping secrets. It's her face, it displays her every thought." She said. "So, don't be offended if she doesn't talk to you over the next few months."

"It's true" Mer called over her shoulder, "I can't help it."

Owen nodded, "Oh you told her" he said.

Cristina smiled at him, "Of course I did."

"Anyway, she was just telling me about her stupid Halloween party" Cristina said making a face.

Owen perked up, "Halloween party" he said excitedly. "I love Halloween!"

Meredith cheered as Cristina rolled her eyes, "Thank you Owen!" Mer chimed with her back still turned.

"Oh and it's a costume party" she said making Cristina groan.

"I don't do costumes" Cristina moaned.

"No costume, no entry" Meredith said sternly.

"Fine, I guess I'm not going" Cristina retorted.

Meredith sighed, "Cristina!"

Meredith's pager began to beep, "Owen" she said seeking some help with Cristina.

Owen laughed at the pair, "She'll wear a costume" he said.

Cristina hit his arm as Meredith walked away "Thank you" Mer shouted as she left.

Cristina turned to face him, "I am not wearing a costume."

"Come on it'll be fun." He said.

She turned back to her charts, "I'll let you pick mine if I can pick yours" he said.

That perked her interest, a mischievous smile grew on her face. "Fine" she said after a moment's pause.

* * *

Later that night Cristina left the hospital after finishing her shift. As she walked out the hospital doors she got hit with the feeling of nostalgia and froze as she remembered standing in this exact same spot with Owen only a few years ago.

That night when he gave her his list of 3 word sentences felt like a lifetime ago. She frowned as she remembered some of their conversation from that night, _The 3 words that you know I feel but I can't say them because it would be cruel to say them because I am no good for you._

She hated that period of their relationship, it was so hard seeing him every day and longing to be with him but being unable to. And hearing that he loved her, pushed her over the edge, all she wanted to do was run into his arms, but she knew that wouldn't be useful for either of them. So, she waited and put her patience to the test, until he was beginning to heal.

She couldn't imagine how Owen could ever think that he was _no good_ for her, in her eyes he was one of the best things that had happened to her. Picturing her life now without Owen would be so bleak.

She continued walking as the wave of nostalgia passed and smiled to herself, she was so glad that that was in the past, they had come such a long way since then. Now they could say I love you whenever they wanted and only used' take care now' randomly when they wanted to make each other smile.

As she walked through the firehouse doors she heard chatter coming from upstairs. "Hey Owen" she called as she threw her bag and coat on the floor and made her way into the kitchen. Owen was sitting at the table with a very tanned Evelyn Hunt beside him. She had been on multiple back to back vacations the past 2 months and they had barely seen her. Owen had been too excited about the baby to wait and tell her in person, so he had told her over the phone. And to say that she was excited would be an understatement, like mother like son I guess.

"Hey honey" Owen said with a smile.

"Cristina!" Evelyn shrieked as she got up from her chair to give her a hug.

"Hi Evelyn" Cristina said as she got pulled into an embrace.

Cristina was never a hugger but she really like Evelyn Hunt and over time she had gotten used to the mandatory hugs that came along with her.

"Look at you!" Evelyn gasped as she released Cristina and stood back to observe her.

She let out a loud shriek as she caught sight of Cristina's small bump and rushed to feel it.

Cristina uncomfortably made eye contact with Owen who laughed to himself at the scene.

"How is my baby?!" Evelyn asked excitedly.

Cristina paused as she mentally stopped herself from slipping up, "He or she is good" she said smiling teasingly at Owen.

"Oh I got something for you" she gasped as she ran over to her bag.

Cristina took a seat beside Owen, who leant over and gave her a quick kiss as they both watched his mother rummaging in her bag.

"Here you go" Evelyn said as she handed Owen a little red gift bag.

Owen smiled as he looked inside and pulled out a tiny white onesie that said 'Grandma's little cutie' on the front. He laughed quietly to himself as he handed it to Cristina, knowing she would hate it and it would never make it out of the baby's drawer.

Cristina faked a smile, "How cute" she said.

"I can't wait to see him wear it" Evelyn said smiling.

"You think it's a boy?" Owen asked curious.

She smiled at him, "Yes i'd bet money on it."

"What do you two think?" she asked them.

"Well Cristina knows, and I thought it was a girl for the first month but now I'm leaning towards boy" Owen replied.

"You know!" Evelyn gasped, pointing at Cristina.

She nodded in response.

"You wanna know?" Cristina asked.

Owen shot her a look but it was too late, Evelyn was already giddy with excitement about it.

She shrugged apologetically at him.

Owen rolled his eyes as Cristina took his mother into the next room to tell her. He was beginning to feel like he was going to be the last person in Seattle to know the gender of his baby.

He soon heard shrieks of joy coming through the walls along with Cristina shushing. God, he really wish he knew.

Evelyn stayed late that night sharing tales of her adventures over the last months and quizzing Cristina on her pregnancy.

When she finally left Cristina went over and sat on Owen's lap, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her curls. She leant in to kiss his neck and whispered in his ear,

"Take care now"

Instantly a toothy grin grew on his face, as she had expected. He cupped her face with one hand and pulled her in for a kiss whispering back "Take care now" when they parted.

* * *

The next day after work, Cristina climbed into Owen's truck and he leaned over to give her a kiss.

"How was your day?" he asked as he started the engine.

"Ehh it was okay" she replied, "How about you?"

He glanced over at her, "Mine was okay too, barely seen you all day though" he said taking her hand and giving it a kiss.

"I Know" Cristina sighed, "Teddy's disappeared and left all her cases with her fellow, who might as well be an intern." she complained.

"He kept calling me for consults and to double check scans, like how the hell did he pass his boards" she sighed.

Owen smiled over at her, "You must be exhausted" he said.

"I am" she moaned.

He moved his hand to rest on her stomach as he drove, "Any kicks today?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, it wouldn't stop during surgery." she yawned.

"Maybe he wanted to join in." Owen joked.

Cristina looked out the window and realised they were going in the wrong direction to their home, "Where are we going?" she asked confused.

He smiled over at her, "To the mall."

She scrunched up her face, "The mall?" she asked with a hint of disgust in her voice.

He laughed at her reaction, "I thought you liked the mall" he objected.

"Why are we going?" she asked.

"We need costumes, remember" he said.

Cristina groaned, "The party's not for 2 weeks" she moaned.

"Yeah but all the good costumes will be gone by then."

"There are no good costumes" she muttered.

They pulled up at the mall and after a bit of persuasion, Cristina followed Owen into the costume shop.

The shop was huge, with rows upon rows of every costume you could think of.

They parted ways and went about finding each other the perfect costume.

Cristina was torn between getting him a really stupid costume to embarrass him or one that she would actually like to see him in.

She chuckled to herself as she came across a topless fireman costume, Owen would hate it, he wouldn't be caught dead in it. She picked it up, after all it was his idea to let her choose, she couldn't wait to see his face when she showed it to him.

On the other side of the store, Owen was looking for a costume that Cristina would actually wear. All the woman's costumes were either too slutty or too cutesy. He was losing hope on finding anything half decent, when he saw it. There it sat on the third shelf, the perfect Cristina costume. He smiled to himself and picked it up what better costume than the Queen of Hearts for a cardio god like Cristina.

They both paid and met at the front of the store,

"Cristina come see this" he said pulling her down an aisle.

They stood in front of all the toddler costumes, "Look how cute!" he said putting his arm around her.

"I wonder what costume our kid will wear next year" he said looking between the little boy and little girls sections.

Cristina laughed and shook her head, "Boy or girl, they're not going to be wearing any of these cutesy costumes." she said, "If they have to wear a costume it'll be something educational."

"But look at the little ladybird" he said pointing at it.

Cristina laughed at him and dragged him out of the store.

* * *

"Well what'd you get me?" Owen said eyeing her bag as they sat in his truck.

A smile grew on Cristina's face as she handed him the bag, "Open and see."

She was starting to hope that he would hate it so much that he wouldn't want to go.

Owen smiled excitedly as he reached into the bag. As he pulled out the costume, his face dropped and he burst out laughing.

Cristina laughed with him, "Do you like it?" she asked mischievously.

He continued laughing, "So can we agree to skip the party?" she asked hopeful.

"Oh no, we're still going." he said with a smile.

Cristina gaped, "You're seriously going to wear that" she asked.

"It wouldn't have been my first choice, but I said you could choose" he said.

Cristina shook her head in surprise.

"Your turn" he said handing her the bag.

She hesitantly took it and pulled out the costume.

She laughed when she seen it.

"You already are the queen of hearts, so I thought this costume was appropriate" he said.

"Do you like it?"

She smiled and sighed, "Fine, I guess I'll wear it."

 **Notes: Sorry that this chapter was a kinda all over the place, hope you still enjoyed it :)**


	14. Chapter 14

2 weeks later and Owen was still none the wiser about their baby's gender. By now, the majority of their friendship group knew, which basically meant that Owen was the last one in the hospital to find out. He tried not to let it bother him, all that matters is that Cristina and the baby are healthy, or at least that's what he told himself every time he heard his friends giddily whispering with Cristina.

Cristina exited her 10 hour long surgery and sighed as she took off her scrub cap. She was exhausted, Teddy was still nowhere to be seen, it was rumoured that she'd gone back home for a while but none knew why or if she was coming back. Ever since her disappearance 2 weeks ago, Cristina had been picking up the slack which meant she had been taking on lengthy surgeries and getting next to no sleep.

She yawned as she approached Meredith and Derek who were standing cosily at the nurse's station.

"Hey Cristina" Meredith said cheerily, breaking out of the trance her and Derek had been in.

Cristina didn't reply she simply stared at them and continued to yawn.

Derek's pager went off causing him to leave, but not before he kissed his wife and whispered something in her ear that left her giggling.

Once he left Meredith turned back to Cristina with a grin on her face.

"I'm too tired for shiny happy Mer" Cristina whined.

Meredith laughed, "Still no Teddy?" she asked.

Cristina shook her head, "And I just spent the last 10 hours watching her surgical fellow completely butcher a surgery." she sighed.

Cristina continued to share the details of Teddy's incompetent fellow elaborating on everything he had done wrong.

She was mid story when she heard a familiar voice behind her and noticed Meredith's face drop.

"Cristina" the voice said.

Cristina immediately tensed up as she realised who was behind her.

Suddenly Meredith shot into action filled with fury.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" she yelled as she took a protective stance over Cristina, who still had her back turned.

"You left remember, you're not welcome here anymore" she continued.

He took a step back as he addressed her, "Uhmm, I was asked to fill in for Dr Altman" Burke said in his usual steady voice.

Meredith's anger grew as she realised he was here to stay, at least for a while. She shook her head, "No" she said simply.

"You left her, you don't just get to waltz back into her life whenever you feel like it."

Cristina remained frozen with her back turned and eyes glued to the floor. She could hear the bickering faintly but no words were registering in her head.

"I just want to talk to her" she vaguely heard him say.

"Cristina" he tried again.

When she didn't turn he reached for her arm, "Don't touch her" Meredith interjected trying to push him off.

Owen rounded the corner and was met with the sight of Meredith Grey aggressively shoving a well built man easily twice her size. He rushed over when he realised that his wife was in the middle of the commotion.

The man reached for Cristina again firing Meredith up even more.

"What's going on?" Owen shouted as he mirrored Meredith's protective stance and pushed the man away from his wife.

Cristina heard the muffled voice of her husband before all the voices merged together and her vision went blurry.

"I just wanted to talk to her" Burke said holding his hands up as Owen towered over him.

"Well she doesn't want to talk to you" Meredith spat out.

Owen realised who was standing before him and it took all his will-power not to knock him out.

He felt a small hand on his arm "Owen" she whispered as she started to fall.

Owen turned around and caught her before she hit the floor.

"Cristina" he gasped.

* * *

Owen rushed through the corridors, Cristina in his arms and Meredith and Burke following behind. As they ran to an empty exam room, a trail of concerned co-workers joined them.

"What the hell happened?" Derek asked as he caught up with them.

"I don't know, she collapsed" Meredith mumbled trying to keep up with Owen who was sprinting.

She turned back and saw that Burke was still with them, "Make sure he doesn't follow us" she said to Derek.

Derek's eyes bulged as he saw who she was referring to but he nodded his confirmation and steeped out to block his path.

Owen's head was running a thousand miles a minute and his heart was racing. He was known for being the calm, level headed trauma surgeon, but apparently that didn't come into play when it was his Cristina to attend to.

He carried her into the exam room and laid her on the bed, while the group of doctors which had gathered linked her up to all the machines.

Owen stood looking at her pale face feeling sick to his stomach, all he could think about were the thousands of things that could be wrong, he knew he was being irrational, but he was irrational when it came to Cristina.

"Somebody page OB" he muttered after a moment.

"Already did" Meredith said as she watched Cristina's vitals appear on the screen.

The room got pretty chaotic as everyone of Cristina's friends wanted to help. Between putting in an IV to fluffing her pillows.

Soon Doctor Thompson from OB appeared.

"Okay everyone out who isn't essential" Owen ordered feeling overwhelmed.

They all began to shuffle out of the room leaving just Owen and Cristina and Dr Thompson.

"What happened?" Cristina whispered looking around her with a confused look on her face.

Owen sighed in relied upon hearing her voice, "You fainted" he said stroking her hair out of her face.

She continued to look puzzled and held onto Owen's hand as she got her bearings.

Doctor Thompson began his assessment.

"Is the baby okay?" Cristina asked nervously as she watched the doctor work.

Owen and Cristina looked at each other anxiously as they awaited a reply.

Dr Thompson turned from the ultrasound machine to face them.

"The baby appears to be fine, it seems to me that this was due to a mixture of exhaustion and dehydration." he said.

"We have started you on IV fluids, but you really need to take care of yourself. I know being a surgeon, you can often neglect sleep and forget to eat or drink, but when you're pregnant it is really crucial that you stay on top of it."

Owen immediately felt relieved as he heard their baby was safe.

"So, I'm prescribing you a day off" Dr Thompson said.

"Make sure she gets some rest " he said to Owen before leaving.

Cristina and Owen were left in the room alone, Owen could see the colour returning to Cristina's cheeks.

"How're you feeling?" he asked her.

"Okay" she said looking up at him, she knew he wasn't happy that she got herself into this position. He had even paged her last night to make sure she got some rest, but she got distracted when a guy with a rare heart defect came in.

"I'm sorry" she said looking into his blue eyes filled with concern.

He smiled sadly at her, "I'm just glad you are both alright" he said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She smiled back at him and pulled him down to lay on the bed next to her.

He wrapped her in his arms and she buried her head in his chest.

"I've never been more scared than when I was carrying you limp in my arms." he said tightening his hold on her.

She couldn't help but smile at the fact that a man who had been at war was most scared by her fainting.

"You can't do that to me again." he said.

"I'll try" she murmured into his chest.

"Have you eaten anything in the last 24 hours?" he asked.

She hesitated before shaking her head.

"Cristina" he sighed. "No wonder you fainted."

"hey" she interjected, "I blame the spontaneous appearance of my ex-finance."

Owen sighed he didn't like to think of anyone else having been Cristina's finance.

"Fine, we can blame him, but you still need to take better care of yourself."

"You're in control of my 2 most prized possessions" he said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She knew a lecture would be coming her way, but being in the warm embrace of her husband's arms, caused her eye lids to droop and her exhaustion to take over.

 **Notes: Sorry if this chapter wasn't the best. Also, I haven't forgotten about the Halloween party it will be next chapter. Thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews, they make my day :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes: Hey sorry I haven't posted in a while and sorry that this chapter is Halloween related and Halloween was like over a week ago, I hope you can still enjoy it :)**

Cristina checked her watch for the third time in the last 5 minutes, she had spent the day off work and was bored out of her mind. She couldn't wait for Owen to come home so she could have some human interaction to put her out of the misery that was daytime TV.

It's not that she missed him terribly or anything sappy, in fact he hadn't given her the chance to miss him with phoning her every hour to check she was alright and bringing her food whenever he got the chance despite her dispute that she was perfectly capable of feeding herself. But still, as another episode of Dr Phil began to play she longed for any excuse to turn it off.

The sound of keys in the lock was music to her ears and she basically leapt out of bed as she made her way into the living room.

"Hey you" he said as he threw his keys on the counter.

"How're you feeling?" he asked.

"Good" she replied as she wrapped her arms around him in greeting. She truly had felt fine all day ever since she got some much needed rest.

Owen smiled in response and kissed her on the forehead.

"How was your day?" she asked as they settled on the sofa.

"It was good, I performed a-" he began before she cut him off.

"Never mind I don't want to hear it" She said, jealous of his day that consisted of more than channel surfing.

Owen laughed, "Okay then."

"So what time is the party?" she asked.

Owen scrunched his face up, "Oh we're not going anymore, you need to stay home, get some rest."

"No" Cristina whined, "I've been resting all day"

"Come on Owen it's Halloween" she said with her most convincing puppy dog look.

"Cristina, the doctor ordered you to take it easy" he argued.

Cristina sighed,"It's only Mer's house, I'll sit on the sofa the whole time. Plus we bought costumes, you wouldn't want them to go to waste" she pleaded, becoming more accepting of a costume party if it got her out of the 4 walls of her house which she'd been trapped in for what felt to her like forever.

Owen looked into her pleading eyes, god he hated it when she made that face.

"You haven't felt dizzy at all today?" he asked sceptically.

She shook her head, "Not once" she said with an optimistic smile sensing that she was wearing him down.

He sighed in defeat, "Fine, but we're leaving early."

She grinned and leaned in to kiss him.

"Thank you" she shrieked as she got up to get ready.

He loved making her happy but couldn't help the feeling of concern that lay at the pit of his stomach.

"Cristina" he called.

"Yeah" she said turning around.

"Tell me if you start to feel unwell okay?" he said not ever wanting to relive how scared he felt when she collapsed on him yesterday.

"I will" she said with a gentle smile before disappearing into their bedroom.

* * *

By the time they showed up, the party was in full swing. Meredith's house was decorated with spider webs and overflowing with party-goers all in a wide variety of costumes. Cristina and Owen made their way through the unlit driveway to the porch, both wearing their costumes.

Music blared though the house and the hum of conversation could be heard over the base of the music. All their usual co-workers were there, and were all seemingly buzzed and enjoying themselves.

As they stepped inside a slightly tipsy April Kepner came bouncing over to them.

"Cristina! Owen! You guys made it" April said as she flung herself into a hug with Cristina before she could object.

Owen couldn't help but laugh at the look on his wife's face as she peeled April off of her.

"Who let Kepner drink" Cristina shouted.

April stood dazed staring at Cristina and began to stroke her face, "You're pretty" she said.

Cristina pushed her hand away and rolled her eyes.

"Queen of hearts" April said gazing down at Cristina's costume.

She burst out laughing, "I get it! Because you're a cardio whore!"

Cristina nodded in response as she looked around for Jackson or anyone to take drunk April off her hands.

April's attention moved to Owen and she wolf whistled as she took in his shirtless fireman costume. "Dr Hunt!" she gasped.

Owen laughed and gave Cristina a kiss on the cheek,

"I'm gonna go find Derek and Mark" he said before leaving her to weave through the crowd.

Cristina left April standing there and made her way deeper into the party.

She couldn't help but feel jealous as she looked at all the drunk people dancing like they had no care in the world, god it had been a long time since she had had a drink.

As she stared longingly at the drinks table, she looked up to see seemingly the only other 2 sober people at the party; Callie and Mer.

She made her way over to them.

"You dressed up!" Meredith said with a smile as she took in Cristina's costume.

"I did" she replied.

Mer was dressed as a skeleton and Callie a cat, all three of them sporting their growing bumps.

"This is quite the party Mer" Cristina noted looking around.

She nodded,"I told Derek he could invite whoever he wanted and apparently he took that to mean the entire hospital."

Callie laughed, "Well you knew how charismatic he was when you married him, I mean the man is basically friends with everyone."

"I think it's the hair" Cristina added, "People just love it."

Meredith rolled her eyes in response.

"Here comes the loser too cool to dress up" Callie said as Alex approached in his usual light blue scrubs.

"Come on Alex" Meredith whined, "Even Cristina dressed up!"

Alex joined the outraged group of his pregnant friends, "I did dress up, I'm a doctor" he said with a half smile as he sipped his beer.

"HaHa" Cristina said sarcastically.

He stood beside Cristina as they all continued to observe the room full of their drunk friends.

"Hey I heard about yesterday" he said to her in a softer tone than usual.

"Let me know if you want me to kick his ass" he added.

Cristina gave Alex a rare smile, "I might just take you up on that" she replied.

As if on cue she looked up to find none other than Preston Burke entering the party.

It seemed Alex wasn't the only one who didn't get the costume party memo, as he was dressed in a red sweater and jeans looking arrogant as ever.

Cristina audibly groaned upon seeing him, "Speak of the devil"

She turned to Mer "It seems your stupid husband thought it would be fun to invite my ex-fiancé"

A look of horror flashed upon Meredith's face, "I'm gonna kill him" she gasped.

"You okay?" Alex asked Cristina.

She nodded and mustered a fake smile, "As long as he stays away from me."

"Why the hell did he even come?" Callie questioned.

"I'm gonna go tell him to leave" Meredith hissed.

Cristina shook her head, "It's fine Mer don't make a scene"

"No, it's my house, he's not welcome here" she muttered as she stormed off to give him and Derek a piece of her mind.

Cristina, Alex and Callie sat down on the sofa behind them as they watched Mer from afar.

Out of nowhere Owen appeared before her with a plate full of party food.

"Here eat up" he said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Callie watched them in awe, as Owen handed Cristina the paper plate, "Where can I get one of those?" She whispered to Alex.

"What's wrong?" Owen asked sensing something was up with his wife.

"Are you not feeling well?" he asked concerned, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead.

She pushed it off, "No I'm fine."

"Okay, don't freak out" She said leaving him looking puzzled.

"But Burke's here".

Owen immediately tensed and spun around in search of him.

Cristina jumped up to grab his arm but he had spotted him and was gone before she could reach him.

"Oh shit" she mumbled under her breath.

Alex got up and they both went to find them.

They weren't hard to find.

They were standing in a face off Burke on one side, with Meredith and Owen on the other seemingly in a screaming match and Derek standing awkwardly behind them all.

Alex quickly rushed over to join the 'Cristina Yang line of defence'.

Cristina stood back trying to make out the yelling over the music.

From what she could see whatever Burke was saying he was pushing all of Owen's buttons, as she could see him becoming redder and redder.

When she noticed Owen clench his fist she rushed forward and made to grab his arm.

But she was a second too late, Owen's fist collided square with Burke's jaw sending him crashing to the floor.

The chattered stopped and everyone turned to see the chaos, the only sound to be heard was a tiny cheer that escaped Meredith's mouth.

* * *

Cristina sat Owen down on a bar stool in the kitchen and gently began to assess his hand.

"Geez Owen did you really have to hit him."

Owen's brow was furrowed, "That guy is a jackass" he hissed.

"Yeah but he's not worth wrecking your hand over, you're a surgeon."

After determining that nothing was broken, she grabbed a packet of peas from the freezer and held them to his hand.

"I don't know what you ever seen in him" Owen mumbled.

He flinched slightly as she readjusted the ice pack.

"What'd he say to you?" she asked wondering what sent him over the edge.

Owen shook his head, "The guy's just an asshole." he muttered.

She tucked a loose curl behind her ear as she looked into his eyes, "No tell me, what'd he say?"

Owen looked into her deep brown eyes, "He started talking shit about how you would be a terrible mother." he said softly.

He pulled her over to stand between his legs as he watched the sad look cross her face.

"Listen, he doesn't know shit. I know you are going to make an incredible mother. Who cares what he thinks. Okay?"

She continued to look into his eyes, she believed his words, even if she didn't quite feel the same yet, she knew that he believed in her and that made her strong.

She nodded and he pulled her in for a hug, wincing slightly at the pain in his hand.

Alex walked in after assisting Derek and Mark with throwing Burke out of the party , (after checking nothing in his face was broken.)

He clapped Owen on the shoulder, "Nice one Hunt" he said as he grabbed a beer from the fridge and stood beside them.

"He had it coming" Owen replied.

Derek and Meredith joined the group, "How's the hand?" Derek asked.

Owen nodded, "It'll be fine."

Meredith smiled approvingly at Owen, it seemed they finally had something in common; their hatred for burke (and anyone else who had ever hurt Cristina for that matter).

"Well this has been quite the party already" Cristina said looking around at her group of friends.

"Yeah" Derek nodded, "Well I hate to get all chiefly on you Hunt, but you're gonna have to wait a few days before you can operate."

Owen frowned but nodded in response. The group slowly started to disperse back into the party leaving Cristina and Owen alone again.

Cristina couldn't help but smile at how ridiculous her husband looked as he sat nursing his sore hand with a frown on his face while wearing his topless fireman costume.

"Next time go for a kick in the crotch" she said trying to make him smile, "That way you can still operate the next day."

She achieved her goal, as his frown slowly turned into a half smile.

"Yeah that was a mistake." he said.

She came back over to stand between his legs, "Mistakes are how you learn." she said smiling.

The memory of the first time he had said that to her played in both of their heads.

That day now felt like a lifetime ago, and as he remembered how desperately he had wanted to kiss her when he had said that to her, he couldn't help but pull her in for a passionate kiss and smile at how he could now do it whenever he wanted to.

After recovering from their moment of bliss, Cristina grabbed his uninjured hand and pulled him up off the stool.

"Come on Mr fireman, let's get you home."

 **Notes: Thank you to everyone who leaves reviews, I love reading them**


	16. Chapter 16

Cristina was sitting in the hospital cafeteria staring at the variety of people who gather here at 6 o'clock in the morning. There are a distinct couple of groups who would be at the hospital at such an ungodly hour, firstly there were the anxious family members of patients, they anxiously nibble on their food and check the clock repetitively. Then there are the on-callers, this category she fell in to, they all looked equally exhausted and consume coffee by the gallon to keep them going. And finally, there were the seemingly unbearable doctors who had gotten a full night's sleep and were squeaky clean and ready to start their day. She scrunched her face up as she watched them happily making small talk, ugh they really were insufferable.

Cristina was now 5 and a half months pregnant and being on call really didn't help her already grumpy mood. It was then when a chirpy Owen appeared before her, breakfast in hand, and a smile on his face, he fell into the last category.

"Morning" he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

Her mood softened slightly upon seeing him and she smiled in response.

He took a seat beside her and placed the plate on the table, "How was your night on call?" he asked her.

She picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite, "Long." She said. "I was on Mark's service and you'd be surprised by the demand for plastic surgeons in the middle of the night."

Cristina had been 'trying out other specialties' this past week, well at least that's what she called it, in reality she was still avoiding Burke. The more specialties she tried, the more she missed cardio. She couldn't help it, she was born for Cardio, and it had been too long since she'd seen a beating heart. She didn't feel like herself when she spent too long away from Cardio and so that is why she didn't object when she seen her name listed for Burke's service today, although she wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

"I missed you last night" Owen whispered in her ear as he leaned in and kissed her.

She smiled against his lips, if ever there was someone to put her in a better mood it was Owen.

"I missed you too" she said as they pulled apart.

"So, what specialty is it today?" he asked with a mouthful of eggs.

She sighed, "Actually I'm back on cardio today."

He looked at her sideways, trying to gauge her feelings on the subject.

"I can see if I can put you on trauma if you'd like" he offered.

She shook her head slightly, "No, it's time I get back" she said.

"That's too bad, I quite liked the idea of having you by my side all day."

She smiled and laid her head on her shoulder, "Ugh call me Meredith Grey, but I've got a feeling today's gonna suck." She muttered.

Owen place his hand on her bump under the table and rubbed it comfortingly as he breathed in her shampoo, "Whatever happens at the end of the day we'll go home, and I'll make you dinner."

A smile grew on her face, "Lasagne!" she exclaimed, "I've been craving it for days."

Owen laughed at her excitable reaction, "Lasagne it is" he said with a kiss on the forehead.

They were just finishing off their breakfast when Owen's pager went off. He unhooked it and looked down to see who it was. Cristina noisily glanced over his shoulder.

"Ohhh the chief, what'd you do?" she teased him.

Just then her pager went off, and to her surprise displayed the same message.

"Let's go find out" he said pulling her to her feet.

* * *

Owen knocked on Derek's office door and he waved them both in.

"Come on in guys" he said from his desk.

They did as they were told and took a seat on the 2 chairs facing Derek's desk.

They were both confused as to what they could be there for and their thoughts were displayed on their faces.

Derek noticed this and decided to get straight to business, "Okay guys, I'm sure you've heard about Teddy" he started.

"I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it is in the best interests of the hospital to offer Dr Burke a permanent position. I wanted to bring you both in here to warn you, and" he got interrupted.

Owen was more focused on the first part of Derek's statement to react to the later. "What happened to Teddy?" He asked confused and concerned.

Derek looked a little taken aback, "Did she not tell you?" he asked.

Owen merely shook his head.

Derek sat back in his chair and scratched his chin, "She's gone back to Iraq Owen."

Cristina's eyes bulged in her head, neither of them were expecting that.

Owen sat staring blankly ahead, the second Derek uttered those words his head was flooded with memories. The kind of memories he tried not to think about and hadn't thought about since finishing therapy. The conversation going on around him became muffled and all he could focus on were the graphic flashbacks playing on repeat inside his head.

"I'm sorry I thought you guys knew. I was just called into a board meeting and they've decided not to interview other candidates. " He said looking between them to gauge a reaction.

Cristina nodded in response, she was more concerned with Owen to give Burke a thought right now.

She looked over at him, and she saw the pained look of the man he used to be. The look on his face was one that she knew all too well and had hoped she would never have to see again.

He was triggered.

"Okay, well thanks for letting us know" she said wanting to get out of there and talk to Owen.

Derek was surprised by how well she had taken it, he noticed her watching Owen intently.

Cristina got up to leave but Owen remained still in his seat seemingly elsewhere.

She gently placed her hand on his shoulder, "Come on honey" she said softly.

He jumped slightly at her touch but quickly stood up and marched towards the door.

He was out the door in a flash and she had to run to catch him.

"Owen!" she called after him.

But it had no effect. She waddled along behind him until he got swallowed by a sea of people.

This was not good, he was triggered for the first time in over a year, she needed to find him.

She took a deep breath and went to the first place she could think that he would go; the vent.

She climbed down the 3 flights of stairs and pushed the heavy metal door open to reveal an empty room.

She sighed and allowed the wind to blow over her to calm herself down, she was getting more and more worried.

She unconsciously placed a hand on her bump as she gathered her thoughts. Okay, where else could he be? She asked herself.

She was about to go search the on-call rooms when her pager went off. 911 from Burke.

Perfect she thought to herself, what a day this was shaping up to be.

* * *

Cristina entered the scrub room of the emergency surgery she had been paged to scrub in on, and found Burke rinsing his hands.

She wordlessly began scrubbing in, her mind still running through all the possible situations Owen could be in. She was so deep in thought she barely heard Burke speaking to her.

"How's the hubby's hand" he asked.

Cristina looked at him briefly, "Fine" she answered not in the mood for whatever he was trying to start.

She shook her hands dry and walked past him into the OR.

Halfway through the surgery Cristina's mind was still racing, she should be thrilled to be so close to a heart again, but she was too distracted to enjoy it.

Burke on the other hand was taking her silence to mean something else.

"Are you seriously giving me the silent treatment?" he asked in disbelief.

The scrub nurses and interns all glanced their way as the silence was broken.

Cristina scrunched her face up, "Oh don't flatter yourself," she said. "Some of us like to focus on the surgery without having to make awkward small talk."

Burke laughed in a way that got on her nerves, "It wouldn't be so awkward if you talked" he retorted.

She scoffed in response, she had too much on her mind and the last thing she wanted to do was make chit chat with her jackass ex-finance.

"Well, what do you want me to say Burke? It's nice to see that you've stuck around Seattle for this long without having a change of heart and fleeing unannounced."

When he didn't reply she continued, "Tell me this Burke, how is your hand, make sure to let me know if there are any more surgeries I can perform to win you another award. You can conveniently forget to mention me, and it'll be just like old times." She said in her most sarcastic voice with a fake smile plastered on her face.

Burke was speechless for a moment, "Awkward silence it is" he said, turning his attention back to the surgery.

* * *

They carried on the surgery in silence. By the time they were closing, Cristina practically sprinted out of the room.

She really needed to find Owen, he was all she had been thinking about for the past 4 hours.

As she exited the scrub room she checked her phone to see if he'd messaged her back; but nothing.

She dialled his number and listened as his familiar voice started to play through his answering machine.

"Owen it's me, I just want to know where you are. Phone me back." She said into her phone.

She took out her pager and paged him as well in case he was still in the hospital.

She pulled her fingers through her hair and sighed, she just wanted to know that he was okay. She hated the thought of him being off someone triggered and alone.

She decided to head to the E.R to see if perhaps he had been pulled into a surgery. She made it down there and glanced at the board, but his name wasn't on there.

She caught one of the nursed, "Hey have you seen Dr Hunt?"

The nurse nodded in response, "Yes, he left earlier this morning. He was in quite a mood."

Cristina frowned, "Did he say where he was going?" she questioned.

"No" she replied, "Let's hope he went to take a nap, god knows he needed it."

Cristina glared at her and without saying another word turned and left.

* * *

Meredith entered the cafeteria and after grabbing her food made her way over to sit with her friend.

As she approached Cristina she noticed her repetitively making phone calls.

"What's up with you?" she asked as she took a seat next to her.

Cristina sighed, "Owen's gone MIA".

"He's triggered Mer and now I can't find him."

"Oh" Mer replied slightly shocked. "Have you checked the E.R."

"Nurse said he left this morning" she replied as she tried his cell for the thousandth time.

Mer tried her best to keep Cristina positive she could hear the panic in her voice, "I'm sure he's fine, maybe he's at his moms" she suggested.

"Maybe" Cristina sighed.

Meredith watched as Cristina nervously bit her finger nails, she was sure this amount of stress couldn't be good on the baby.

"Listen Cristina there's no reason to worry he's a grown man he can take care of himself. Let's make a deal, you'll stop worrying and wait for him to show up with a perfectly reasonable explanation"

"And what if he doesn't?" she asked.

"What if he is under a bus or lying dead in an alley" Cristina rambled, her pregnancy had made her always think the worst possible outcomes, especially when it came to Owen.

"If this time tomorrow you still haven't heard from him, then you're allowed to freak out." Meredith finished.

She could see the worry etched on her face.

Cristina nodded in response even though she knew the likelihood of her being able to stop worrying was slim to none.

* * *

Cristina made it through the rest of her day pretty uneventfully, she had been checking her phone so much that it had died about an hour before her shift ended.

When she arrived home, she paused before she went inside and crossed her fingers that he would be in there.

As she ascended the stairs she called his name but heard no response.

She frowned when she found the apartment empty and untouched.

She looked over at the empty kitchen and sighed, No lasagne tonight she sadly thought to herself.

She reluctantly climbed into their empty bed and tried to fall asleep, all the while wishing his arms would wrap around her and breath would tickle her neck.

She tossed and turned trying her best to abide by Meredith's rules, and eventually her long day took a toll on her and her eyes began to droop.

At around 3 am she was startled awake when she heard the door creaking open. She jolted upright, immediately remembering that she had forgot to lock the front door.

She climbed out of bed and rummaged around for some sort of weapon, she grabbed Owen's baseball bat from his wardrobe and hid behind the wall.

She stood shaking with fear as she heard a pair of heavy footsteps getting closer and closer.

When they got to the other side of her wall, she hyped herself up and sprung around the corner, bat in the air.

She was mid swing when she made out who the intruder was.

"Wooo wow" he said with his arms in the air.

"Owen" she gasped as she crossed the distance between them and embraced him dropping the bat to the floor.

As she hugged him she heard him laughing lightly into her hair, "What was that all about?" he asked her.

She pulled back to look at him, his hair was ruffled in a way which she could tell that he had run his hands through it too many times and he had huge bags under his eyes.

"I thought you were an intruder." She muttered as she continued to examine his face, it was evident that the small smile he had on his face was the first one since she had last seen him.

"But more importantly Owen, where the hell have you been" she questioned.

He pulled back and stroked his stubble, "I-I went to the cemetery to visit my unit" he said softly.

She took his hand in hers as she waited for him to continue, "After hearing about Teddy, the flashbacks started again. I don't…. I just don't understand why she wouldn't tell me." He continued.

Cristina stroked his cheek, she didn't fully understand why either.

"I'm sorry I should've called." he said, noticing the obvious signs of worry etched all over his wife's face.

"Yes, you should've" she said as they sat down on the sofa together, she was too happy that he was home, safe with her to be annoyed with him though, "But I'm just glad you're home now."

"Come on it's been a long day, let's go to bed" she said getting up from the sofa.

He stayed in place on the sofa and she looked at him questioningly, "I'm gonna sleep on the sofa Cristina" he said grabbing her hand. "I just can't risk anything happening to you or the baby" he said sadly.

She knew he was right although she hated it. She sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I was so worried about you" she whispered into his ear.

He tucked some hair behind her ear and kissed her softly.

"I'm sorry" he whispered back. She laid he head down on his shoulder and they stayed like that for a while.

Owen breathed in her scent and felt himself relax, after such a crappy day she was always his shelter from the storm. He cursed himself for what he had put her through that day and vowed to call Dr Wyatt in the morning.

When he looked back down at Cristina she was soundly sleeping and snoring lightly, he scooped up her small frame and carried her over to their bed.

She stirred slightly but didn't wake up, he pulled the cover over her bump and up to her neck and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

He grabbed a pillow and a blanket and made his way back to the sofa for a night of dreading to sleep in case of a nightmare.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes: Sorry I took so long to update, but this is the longest chapter yet so hopefully that makes up for it.**

Owen woke up the next morning after not really sleeping, he spent the night tossing and turning scared to fall asleep. The sinking feeling in his stomach that he knew all too well keeping him awake, as he tried to think about anything but the images playing in his head.

Every time he began to drift off he saw Cristina's face after the choking and his eyes shot open again, he was reminded of the toll that it took on her; on them. He could take the war flashback, but being reminded of the fear in her eyes on that fateful day tore him apart and instilled him with guilt. The weeks without her felt like years, and after she told him 'yes' and took him back, he had vowed to never to put her in that situation again.

He was surprised when he woke up to the sun beaming in through the window, he hadn't expected to get any sleep and he suspected that he had merely got a few hours, but still he would take it.

He glanced behind him to check on Cristina, she was soundly asleep in their bed, the morning sun illuminating her wild curls and drawing him to run his hands through them.

He climbed into bed beside her in his usual spot, and gently stroked a stray curl out of her face. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his torso, still asleep and let out a happy sigh. He smiled down at her as she laid her head on his chest.

He thought about how lucky he was, she had stuck with him through thick and thin and he had returned the favour this past year. He felt guilty for putting her through it again, he really hoped he could snap of it. But he knew that it wasn't that easy.

It was different this time though, he has Cristina, he has a family. She had helped him through it before, even when he had tried to push her away, she had stuck. He had a family to think about now. He would get through it for them, he just hoped he could do it quickly.

"Morning" he heard from a sleepy Cristina.

"Morning" he replied.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked softly still half asleep herself.

"Alright" he lied.

"How're you feeling?" he asked giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Good" she yawned.

"How's my baby?" he asked moving his hands to rest upon her bump.

Cristina continued to yawn, "She's good" she said nonchalantly.

Owen's eyes bulged in his head, and Cristina's hand shot up to cover her mouth as she realised what she had done.

She nervously lifted her head, expecting Owen to look annoyed but to her surprise he had a huge grin on his face.

"It's a girl?" he asked sceptically.

Cristina looked in his eyes and smiled apologetically, "Yes, I'm sorry it just slipped out and I…" she was interrupted when Owen kissed her, swallowing her words.

He pulled back smiling like a crazy man, "We're having a girl!" he stated excitedly.

"We're having a girl" Cristina repeated as she enjoyed the smile displayed on his face, she loved seeing him so happy. If only it could last.

Owen grinned from ear to ear and pulled her into a bear hug.

* * *

While Cristina showered, Owen took the opportunity to phone Dr Wyatt, feeling even more motivated now to get well again for 'his girls'.

After a brief conversation with her secretary, Owen had persuaded her that it was urgent, and she had been able to squeeze him in first thing this morning.

He quickly got dressed and made Cristina some eggs for breakfast.

He explained to her where he was going, and she looked pleased that he was seeking help.

"See you later" he said giving her a peck on the lips.

He then bent down beside her bump, "Bye baby girl" he whispered, giving her a quick kiss.

Cristina smiled as she watched his retreating form, he's getting help, that's good she thought to herself. She hated seeing him go through this again and even more hated seeing how much he beat himself up for it. But still, she was glad that she was able to put a smile on his face this morning, at least that was something.

She ate her breakfast and headed to work about an hour after Owen.

After changing into her scrubs, she headed to the cardio wing, when Alex fell into stride beside her.

"Hey" he said.

"What's up evil spawn" she replied.

"Not much, hey did you hear Burke's staying?" Alex asked.

Cristina and Alex had what she guessed a sibling relationship would be like, they loved to hate each other, but at the end of the day they always had each other's back.

She smiled slightly to herself as she picked up the protective look of concern displayed on his face.

"Yeah I heard" she sighed.

He glanced at her briefly, "Are you okay with it?" he asked.

"I don't really have much of a choice." She muttered.

"Well if it helps everyone hates him so it's not like he's going to have much fun, besides I heard some nurses talking yesterday and apparently he took one of them on a date and she got so bored she had to fake a family death." Alex snickered.

Cristina laughed slightly in response, remembering their painfully boring first date.

They paused at the nurse's station when they spotted Meredith.

"Hey" They greeted her.

Meredith peaked up from her chart and turned to face them.

"Hey" she replied.

"So, I'm guessing you found Owen" she asked Cristina.

She nodded, "Yeah he came home last night, thank god."

"So, what did he say?" Meredith asked.

Cristina frowned not liking Meredith's accusatory tone, "He's triggered Mer, he hasn't said much, but he's being responsible he's seeing Dr Wyatt again." She said.

Alex stood there listening to their conversation, he had heard bits and pieces about Owen's PTSD and the choking, but at the time it was all happening he was too caught up in Izzie's cancer to be concerned about anything else. Still he knew Hunt was a good guy and wouldn't do anything to harm Cristina on purpose.

Meredith lowered her voice slightly, "Just be careful Cristina, you know what happened last time. It's not just you to think about anymore" she said signalling to her bump.

Unannounced to the three of them, Burke had rounded the corner and the conversation had peeked his interest, so he hovered behind them listening.

"I appreciate your concern Mer, but I can handle this." She stated.

"What happened last time?" Burke asked referring to the conversation he had just overheard.

The three of them turned around in unison.

Burke stepped closer to them, "He hurt you didn't he" he said shaking his head, "I knew that guy was a jackass"

Cristina cut him off, "Don't you dare" she said pointing a finger at him, "You have no idea what you're talking about. Owen Hunt is ten times the man you'll ever be, so you don't get to talk about him. Now mind your own god damned business." She fired back.

She took the files out of his hand and stormed down the corridor.

As she rounded the corner she spotted Owen standing sadly and staring at the ground, she got even more angry at the thought that he had overheard Burke's stupid comments.

"Hey Owen" she said drawing his attention.

She tried her best to wipe the ager off her face and replace it with a smile.

She pulled him over to the side, "How was therapy?" she asked softly, although she didn't even really need to ask, she could see it had been rough from the look on his face.

He looked up into her eyes, "It was okay" he answered gently, "We didn't really get anywhere."

She noticed his hands were in fists, and she could tell that he was frustrated.

She placed her hand on top of his, and intertwined their fingers, "It takes time, you know that" she whispered softly. "That was only your first session back."

He nodded and pulled her into his arms, "I just wish we didn't have to go through this...again" he mumbled sadly into her hair.

He brought a hand down to rest on her bump, "I'm so sorry Cris"

Cristina took a step back to look him in the eyes, "Owen stop it, it's not your fault." She assured him stroking his cheek. "I put you through worse this year, we got through that and we'll get through this. Okay?"

She pulled him back into a quick hug, "I love you" he whispered in her ear.

She pulled back and pecked him on the lips.

"I'll see you later" she said, and they parted ways.

* * *

Owen made his way down to the E.R to start his shift. To his surprise the pit was unusually quiet and so he started on some of the smaller cases, as a way to avoid doing his paperwork.

He went to bed 3 and pulled open the curtain to reveal a young boy, maybe 4 or 5 with a bloody nose and apparent injury to his left arm and shoulder.

"Hello little man I'm Dr Hunt" he greeted. He noticed his mother standing behind him and shook her hand.

He lifted the chart and checked his name.

"Is it okay if I take a look at your arm Jake?" he asked the little boy.

The boy appeared quite shy but nodded in response.

Owen began his assessment, "So do you want to tell me how this happened?" Owen asked trying to better understand the injuries.

"He was being mean again." The little boy mumbled.

"What?" Owen asked stopping his assessment suddenly, he looked over at them mum questioningly.

She quickly stepped forward, "He's a bit loopy at the minute" She excused. She crouched down beside her son, "You fell down the stairs remember honey" she said emphasising her last words.

The boy stared into her eyes and nodded.

Owen was still assessing him and suspected a broken collar bone, "Okay, well I'm going to order you an x-ray for your shoulder and we can get a better idea of what's going on." He stated, whilst writing notes in his chart.

He addressed the mother now, "Someone will be down to bring him to radiology shortly."

"Can I go with him?" she asked somewhat urgently.

"He doesn't like going strange places alone." She added.

Owen smiled sadly and shook his head, "I'm sorry but you're not allowed up there, we'll take good care of him though."

The woman took a step closer to her son and began nervously biting her nails.

Owen stepped outside of the curtain and took note of the woman's unusual behaviour.

He turned to the intern following him, "Call social services, I have a feeling this kid didn't fall down the stairs" he solemn voice.

* * *

Owen made his way up to radiology to look at Jake's scans. He went into the viewing room and glanced at the monitors. The x-rays showed displaced fractures in his collar bone, and his left arm seemed to have been crushed along his Humerus bone.

Owen frowned at the images, "Poor kid" he said.

"Okay, page Torres and schedule OR 3" he ordered, as he made his way into see the kid.

He helped Jake out of the machine and into a wheelchair.

"Am I okay?" the boy gently asked.

Owen knelt down beside him, "You've got some damage to your arm, but don't worry we're gonna fix you right back up" he said with a smile.

The boy nodded slowly.

"Will it cost money? He'll get mad if I cost him money" he whispered.

Owen frowned, "Who'll be mad?" he asked.

The little boy went quiet and looked away.

"You can trust me you know" Owen said softly.

The boy turned back to face him, "Daddy" he replied.

Owen couldn't say he was surprised, his suspicions had been confirmed.

He instructed an intern to stay with the kid at all times, and went to phone social services himself.

Afterwards, he found the mother pacing in the corridor.

"They said he needs surgery." She said to him.

"Yes" Owen replied, "There will also will be someone coming to talk to you shortly about the 'accident'."

She seemed a little taken off guard, "What?" she whispered.

Owen placed a hand on her arm, and noticed bruises hiding under her shirt "We can get you help. I suspect this is not the first 'accident', and it's not alright for you two to be living like this," he said softly.

The woman started to cry and pulled Owen into a hug.

"I didn't mean for him to get hurt" she blubbered, "It used to just be me".

Owen tried his best to comfort her.

He released her when he saw the social worker waiting behind them.

"I'm going to take Jake to surgery now" he said softly, "He's in good hands don't worry."

* * *

Owen and Callie had finished Jake's surgery, and it had gone well.

Owen was knackered afterwards and made his way to an on-call room for a quick nap in between pages. He was running on caffeine alone after not sleeping well last night.

As he climbed under the covers and laid his head on the pillow he was out before he knew it.

 _Owen!" "Owen!" he heard his name being screamed, faintly at first and then it became deafeningly loud._

 _He stood still taking in his surroundings, the scorching heat on the back of his neck accompanied by the sand blowing around his ankles and the distinctive smell of gunfire helped him to pinpoint where he was._

 _Owen!" he heard the cry again. This time he looked up and found it's source. Teddy._

 _She was being dragged backwards kicking and screaming over enemy lines._

 _Owen shot into action and sprung out from behind the burned-out SUV which he had been crouched behind._

 _Teddy" He called as he began sprinting after her. "Teddy!"_

 _He ran as fast as he could, his pace causing clouds of sand to form behind him and leaving his shirt drenched in sweat._

 _The faster he ran the further away she got._

 _He picked up pieces of rubble from the ground and threw them at her captors in an attempt to slow them down._

 _But instead, the pieces bounced off of them as if they had some sort of forcefield surrounding them._

 _Owen froze upon seeing this, "What the hell" he mumbled to himself._

 _Suddenly he began to feel light headed, he brought his hand up to his head and tried to steady himself._

 _The pounding in his head got stronger and stronger, until he collapsed backwards into the dessert sand._

 _When he opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find himself in the firehouse. He was tempted to go back to sleep, but then he heard it. A baby crying from the other room._

 _He instinctively got up to check on it not thinking too much of it._

 _When he reached the baby's room he stood frozen in the doorway._

 _As he stood there he saw the surreal scene of himself walking over to the crib._

 _What the hell" he repeated under his breath._

 _He observed quietly as this other Owen stood over the crib. He looked like he was going to pick the baby up and soothe its cries. But then suddenly his hands changed direction and wrapped around the baby's neck instead._

 _NO!" he screamed as he tried to rush over to the baby, but he couldn't move, it was as if he had been glued to the spot._

 _He thrashed his arms around desperately trying to get free and help his baby, who had gone quiet._

 _But he had no luck, he screamed, and tears ran down his cheek as he was forced to watch the baby turn blue and lay lifelessly in the crib._

 _He sank to the floor with his head in his hands and sobbed, until he heard his name echoing again._

 _Owen" this time it wasn't Teddy._

 _Owen, wake up!"_

His eyes flashed open for real this time and it took him a second to get his bearings.

He suddenly realised he wasn't alone, he looked to his left to see Cristina standing sheepishly in the corner. He then spotted the mess before him on the floor. The bedding lay in a heap and the bedside lamp lay shattered on the ground.

He jumped into an upright position, "Are you Okay?" he asked searching her face.

"Did I hurt you?" he questioned frantically.

She shook her head and he could see the sympathy displayed on her face.

"You didn't hurt me" she said softly.

Owen's gaze landed on her bump and he buried his head in shame.

Cristina frowned, she had been walking down the corridor and had heard him thrashing about. She had learnt in the past not to approach him so, she stood by the door and repeatedly called his name until he woke up.

She crossed the distance between them careful not to step on any glass, and sat down beside him on the bed.

She brought his head out of his hands and held it in hers, "I'm fine Owen, you didn't hurt me" she assured him.

She could see the tears pooling in his eyes and her heart broke. She pulled him into a tight hug.

As Owen remained in the comforting arms of his wife, the memories of his nightmare started to come back to him and made him feel sick to his stomach.

Cristina pulled back after a while and looked him in the eye, "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked gently.

Owen shook his head in response.

Just as Cristina was about to speak again her pager went off.

She looked at it, '911' damn it!

She glanced at Owen to see if he would be alright on his own.

"Go, I'll be fine." He responded as if he could read her mind.

She noted that he really didn't sound like himself, that must have been some nightmare she thought to herself.

* * *

When Cristina left, Owen began to tidy up the on-call room, the nightmare still replaying in his head.

For the rest of the day he was unable to shake the image of his lifeless baby from his head. As he walked past Jake's room he remembered the fear in Jake's eyes as he spoke about his father. And he couldn't help but fear that that could be his child some day.

Even though Owen would never intentionally harm his child, or anyone for that matter, he couldn't shake this irrational thought from his head.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was a danger to his family. He decided there and then that he had to make some changes, for the sake of his family.

* * *

Cristina arrived home later that night, not knowing exactly what to expect from Owen. She had been in surgery all afternoon and never got a chance to check on him before he left.

As she climbed the stairs, she saw him sitting on the sofa and smiled at him.

Owen looked up having heard her come in, he watched as her gaze fell to the bags sat beside him and watched the smile vanish from her face.

"Owen what" she began but didn't finish. She shook her head and tears began to roll down her cheek.

She walked into the kitchen still shaking her head, "You're not leaving." She stated.

Owen got up and followed her, "Cristina it's not safe" he said solemnly.

The tears continued to stream down her face, "You said you'd never leave me" she muttered with a finger pointed at him.

Owen scoffed at how ridiculous this situation was and how much he hated it.

He walked over so he was standing beside her and placed a hand on her arm, "Cristina, I'm not leaving you" he said as if it was the most stupid thing he'd ever heard.

"I love you so much and I could never leave you" he said cupping her face and wiping at her tears. "but I am leaving….for a while."

She pulled out of his embrace, "No" she exclaimed. "You can sleep on the sofa, you don't need to leave."

He hated seeing her like this and hated even more that he was the reason for her upset. Tears of his own began to pool in his eyes, "It's not safe Cristina. I have to think about the baby."

Cristina refused to back down, "You would never hurt us, please just unpack your bags" she pleaded.

Owen shook his head, "I'm not me when I'm asleep." He said sadly, "You've seen that before, and I will die before I ever make you go through that again."

Cristina ran her hands through her hair seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere and slumped down on the sofa.

They spent the next half hour arguing back and forth, both too passionate to back down.

Owen stood up and picked up his bags, "I'm sorry Cristina" he said looking down at her.

"This is the number of the hotel, if you need anything please called."

She refused to meet his eyes. He bent down and gave her a kiss but she stubbornly refused to return it. He kissed her forehead instead. "I love you." He whispered into her ear.

As he walked to the stairs he turned around to look at her, "Take care now" he said allowing a single tear to roll down his face.

And then he was gone.

Cristina sat in the dark staring into space, she hated this. She felt like she was being punished. She knew it wasn't his fault but she had thought they were over this. They were supposed to be moving forward and now it felt as though they had taken 10 steps back.

She continued to cry, allowing herself to wallow in her self-pity. She was reminded of the weeks that followed the choking, when all she wanted was to have him with her but this tiny part of her was afraid. She remembered how she had this old t-shirt of his that she would wear every night during that time. She placed a hand on her bump, at least this time she had a piece of him with her always.

But still she hated that this was happening. She grabbed her coat and left the house. She had long since been banned from riding her motorcycle so she had no choice but to walk. It was more of an angry stomp than a walk as she took out her anger of the situation, she was so caught up in her thoughts that she was there before she knew it.

She walked straight through the front door, up the stairs and into Mer's room, not bothering to knock.

Meredith and Derek were in bed and sat up when the door swung open. They could both tell by the look on her face that she needed her person.

"Well I'm gonna sleep on the couch" Derek said grabbing a pillow and leaving them to themselves.

Cristina climbed over the bed, linked arms with Mer and laid her head on her shoulder.

"What happened?" Meredith asked.

 **Notes: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, part of the reason why it took me so long to update it is because I hate writing angst and I just want them to be happy all the time. But I want to keep this story interesting and not just full of fluff. Even though I no joke cried writing this. Anyway, thank you for the reviews, I love reading them.**


	18. Chapter 18

_Notes: Hey, sorry for taking so long to publish, I'm back into the swing of things so it hopefully won't take me this long next time. Anyways, here's another chapter...enjoy! :)_

* * *

The week that followed was one of the worst of Owen's life. It consisted mostly of gruelling therapy sessions, which he knew were necessary, but truly hated. He had been attending them daily and every day Wyatt came up with new ways to force him to dig through his brain and encourage him to talk about his least favourite topic; Iraq. It pained him to remember the things he had seen out there, and it exhausted him to talk through his emotions with Dr Wyatt. The worst part of his week however, was the lack of Cristina.

Cristina was still upset with Owen's decision to move out. She missed him more than she ever thought she could, but yet she was stubbornly protesting his absence by avoiding him. She knew it wasn't logical, if you miss someone you don't avoid them, but it was her natural response and so she had stuck with it.

He called her every morning to check on her, she declined his calls and replied via text, 'I'm alive.' He tried to have lunch with her a few times, but Meredith always coincidentally needed her. He even tried to drive her home one night but she said she was working late.

Not seeing her was driving him crazy, he hadn't meant for her too cut all communication with him, he was simply trying to keep her safe. After a long therapy session all he longed for was to lay his head on her chest and have her run her fingers through his hair. He missed her. Yet there was no way he was going to give in to her stubbornness and return home before he was better.

On this particular day Owen was halfway through yet another session with Dr Wyatt.

"So you had another night terror last night?" she asked from her armchair.

Owen nodded silently in response.

"Tell me about it" she said.

Owen hated when she made him do this, he spent most of the day pushing the images of his nightmares out of his head and then he would come here and have to bring them back to the surface . But he was determined to get better and if doing what Wyatt said would get him back to where he was then he was sure as hell going to do whatever she told him.

And so, Owen began to recount last night's nightmare which as per the other 4 he had experienced this week, consisted of a strange combination of war flashbacks, with Cristina thrown in for good measure.

Dr Wyatt sat back and listened intently to Owen's retelling, she studied his face and nodded at him when he looked to her for assurance.

* * *

Elsewhere in the hospital, Cristina had had a long, exhausting day and she wanted nothing more than to go home with her husband. She slumped down on the bench in the resident changing room and let her hormones get the best of her as she started to tear up.

Burke was walking past when he spotted her crying through the window, he thought about buying her a coffee for old time's sake, but figured the gesture probably would do the opposite of cheer her up.

Still, he couldn't walk past without checking on her.

Cristina sniffled and wiped at her eyes as she heard the door opening, she looked up hoping to find Meredith to limit her embarrassment, but to her dismay Preston Burke stood before her.

There was an awkward pause as they both looked at each other, before Cristina turned away.

Burke took a step into the room allowing the door to swing closed.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine." Cristina replied bluntly.

Burke paused, deciding whether he should leave or not.

"Are you sure because it looked like you were crying." He asked in an unusually soft tone for him.

Cristina paused, and closed her eyes for a brief second, she still found it weird to have Preston Burke back at Seattle Grace.

She took a deep breath, she still had a lot of bad feeling towards him but if he was going to be sticking around she might as well refrain from biting his head off every chance she got, for the sake of future surgeries if nothing else.

"It's the stupid hormones" she sighed.

"Oh" Burke said, his eyes falling to her bump. He realised in that moment that he had not had a proper conversation with her since he came back.

He took a seat on the bench across from her, "How far along are you, might I ask?" he asked.

She looked up cautiously, are we really gonna do this whole small talk thing? She thought to herself.

"6 months." She replied.

Burke nodded back and took a second before asking another question, "Have you and Dr Hunt been married long?" he asked.

Her face screwed up momentarily as she thought of how weird it was for her ex-fiancé to be asking her these questions, but for the sake of getting along she complied.

"Just over 7 months."

"I heard about the shooting, what you did was immensely brave. You have become an excellent surgeon, as I had once imagined." He said with a hint of pride for his past student.

"Thank you" she replied, slightly taken aback by his kind words.

"Well then I best be on my way" he replied.

"Do you need a ride?" he offered.

She shook her head in response, "No, I'm waiting for Owen" she lied.

"Alright then" he said as he left.

As she watched his retreating figure she hoped she could turn over a new leaf with him, she had a new life now and if he wanted to work here then there wasn't much she could do about it.

* * *

Another week passed, and things were pretty much the same between Cristina and Owen. They spoke every day, but it was never more than a few words, yes Cristina was still being her stubborn old self.

Owen longed to give in to her stubbornness and go home with her, but he refrained. Instead he kept with his therapy and focused on getting better.

Cristina and Meredith sat on the sofa in the attendings changing room, the resident's changing room didn't have a sofa, so they often snuck in here, being pregnant and married to attendings gave them enough excuses to get away with it.

They both had prominent bumps now, Meredith had recently found out that she too was having a baby girl, and Derek joked about the second generation of twisted sisters.

"Ouch" Cristina whined, breaking the peaceful silence of the empty attending lounge. Her little twisted sister in the making had just delivered yet another strong blow to her rib cage.

"Kicking again?" Meredith asked.

Cristina had been experiencing more kicks than ever this past while and they always knocked the wind out of her.

"I swear that's a kickboxer in there not a baby" Cristina said whilst rubbing her belly.

"I never knew it would hurt this much" she moaned.

Cristina gripped the arm rest of the sofa as she received another forceful kick, "That's it Mer I need your help." Cristina exclaimed.

"Me? What do you want me to do?" Meredith asked with raised eyebrows.

"I need you to talk to it." She replied matter-of-factly.

Meredith scrunched up her face in response.

"Please Mer, when Owen talks to her she stops kicking. But Owen's off being all dark and twisty so I need you to do it …I'm begging here." She pleaded.

"Ugh fine" Meredith said as she leaned closer to her friend's bump.

She paused before beginning. "Uhm, hello in there…please stop kicking." Meredith mumbled quickly before sitting back up, pleased with her efforts.

Cristina scoffed, "Is that it?"

Meredith frowned, "Well what else do you want me to say?" she argued.

"I don't know… more than that" Cristina replied.

"Tell her a story or something"

Meredith thought for a second before leaning back in, "Oh I've got a good one."

"So, once upon a time, your mommy and I were at work, it was the day of your mommy's wedding or almost wedding…but anyways w-"

"What are you doing?!" Cristina exclaimed interrupting Meredith.

Meredith looked up at Cristina, "What? it's the no eyebrows story!" she replied. "It's a good story."

Cristina rolled her eyes in response, "You're useless at this" she sighed.

Before Meredith could try again, the door swung open and Owen entered.

"Hey you two" he said surprised by their presence.

He walked over and hovered near Cristina, "I'm gonna go find Derek" Meredith said wanting to leave them on their own.

"How're you feeling?" Owen asked Cristina as he took Meredith's place on the sofa.

"I'm fine" Cristina said instinctively, ever since Owen had entered the room she had noticed that the baby had stopped kicking. Maybe the baby misses him too, she thought to herself.

"What about you?" she asked.

Owen nodded, "I'm alright" he replied, she could hear the rawness in his voice and suddenly felt and overwhelming need to comfort him.

She took his hand which surprised him slightly, he brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed hers.

"How's therapy going?" she asked. This already was the longest conversation they had had all week and she was starting to feel guilty about ignoring him.

"It's going good. Wyatt thinks I'm making progress." He told her.

That made Cristina smile, "So are you ready to come back home?" she asked him hopeful.

Owen sighed, "Cristina, you know I can't yet" he told her, stroking her hand with his thumb.

"Not until I'm completely sure I won't be a danger to you."

Cristina rolled her eyes and retracted her hand, she got up to leave, her hormone surges suddenly making her feel extremely angry.

Before she got through the door she turned back to him, "I miss you" she muttered quietly before leaving.

"I miss you too" Owen whispered to the now empty attending's lounge.

* * *

Over the next couple of days Cristina found the only way to stop her baby from kicking was to be in the same room as Owen.

So, she found herself sneaking down to the pit every chance she got and lurking behind him unannounced to Owen.

Yes, Cristina Yang was essentially stalking her husband.

She would linger outside trauma rooms and follow him from a distance down the hospital corridors. It was pretty ridiculous, as Meredith told her every chance she got.

But Cristina hated being kicked in the ribs, and Owen's voice stopped the kicking, but Cristina wasn't talking to Owen, therefore in her mind this was the perfect solution.

* * *

Cristina was on her way to her ultrasound appointment on this particular Thursday. She had failed to mention this appointment to Owen and so sat in the waiting area alone.

As she glanced around the room at all the expecting couples, her heart grew heavy as she wished he was there with her.

Even though Cristina was 6 months in to her pregnancy, she still got worried before every ultrasound, and Owen was a pro at settling her nerves.

As Cristina followed the doctor into the exam room her need for Owen to be there along with her guilt for not telling him continued to grow.

As she climbed onto the bed and lay back, her hand reached out instinctively to hold his and she frowned at the empty space beside her.

For the second time this week her hormones were beginning to get the best of her as she felt tears begin to form.

"Where is Dr Hunt today" the doctor asked trying to make conversation, not realising the emotions he would evoke.

The dam burst, and Cristina began to cry uncontrollably.

The doctor looked at her slightly taken aback. All he could think to do was offer her a tissue.

When that didn't seem to work he tried asking her what was wrong.

"He's not here" was the answer he got between sobs.

He paused, "Do you want me to call him?" he asked.

Cristina looked up with tears still streaming down her face and nodded her head.

She listened to the one side of the conversation she could hear.

"Hello Dr Hunt, it's Dr Gilmore in maternity."

"I have your wife here"

"No, no she's fine. She's just a bit upset and is asking for you."

"Okay thank you" Dr Gilmore said before hanging up.

He turned back to face Cristina, "He's on his way."

Owen must have run there as he busted through the door merely minutes later.

His heart broke as he seen his wife's tear stained face.

He immediately joined her side and cupped her face, "What's the matter?" he asked softly.

Cristina sighed in relief once he was near, she looked up into his blue eyes, "Y-you weren't here" she muttered still crying slightly. "I didn't tell you and then you weren't here." She mumbled unaware of how hormonal she sounded.

Owen wiped at her tears with his thumb, "I'm here now baby." He said giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

"Okay are we ready to begin." The doctor asked.

Cristina nodded her head and grabbed Owen's hand.

* * *

The rest of the appointment went smoothly, and the doctor made arrangements to meet them again in a few weeks before leaving the two of them alone.

Cristina pulled Owen down to lay in the bed beside her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you" she mumbled into his chest.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here" he replied which made her smile.

After a much needed while of simply enjoying each other's company Owen lifted his head from the bed.

"So, are you going to tell me why you've been stalking me all week?"

Cristina raised her head to meet his eyes, "You noticed that?" she asked slightly embarrassed.

Owen smiled, "I always notice when you're around."

Cristina smiled back and gave him a quick peck on the lips, "The baby missed you too" she said simply.

"She stops kicking when she hears your voice."

That made Owen a mixture of sad and happy, he was happy the baby knew who he was but sad that she had to miss him, he bent down and kissed Cristina's bump.

"I missed you too baby girl" he whispered.

* * *

 _Notes: Hope you liked the chapter, thank you for reading. Let me know what you thought, I love reading the reviews. :)))))_


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes: This chapter kinda sucks I promise there's better ones coming!**

Some time passed, and Owen continued his regular visits with Dr Wyatt. Him and Cristina were doing better, but still sleeping apart. However, he was making great progress as Dr Wyatt had just mentioned on this Monday morning.

It was now winter in Seattle, Owen had planned to spend Christmas with Cristina and his family, in his family's cabin. As kids he had spent every winter break there but as he and his siblings grew older the cabin lay empty. Cristina wasn't thrilled about the idea but had agreed to it months prior after being promised a week of home cooked meals, plus even though her and Owen had been married for over 6 months, she had yet to meet his siblings. Owen had been looking forward to this trip for months, but now he wasn't sure if it was a good idea for him to even go.

That was what he was discussing with Dr Wyatt this particular morning.

"Do you feel as though you would be a threat to them?" She asked him from her armchair.

Owen thought for a moment, "I don't know, that's why I'm asking you."

Wyatt nodded, "Well Owen, you have not had a night terror in 3 weeks. That is not something to skim over, you're getting better." She stated.

Owen nodded not convinced, "So you think that we could still go?" he asked hopeful.

"In my professional opinion I feel as though you are no longer a threat, but maybe just to be safe I would have you sleep on the sofa" she replied.

"Only though, if you feel yourself that you are ready."

After that session Owen was pretty chuffed, if he was being honest, he did feel as though he was ready, but he had to make sure that Wyatt agreed. After he had her approval, he spent the rest of the week looking forward to it.

Owen loved Christmas, always had. And being able to not only spend his Christmas with his family who he rarely got to see, but also with Cristina was like a dream for him. Plus, the fact that this was their last Christmas without a child present made it all the more exciting. He was really looking forward to checking out of his hotel room, he hated it and was happy that he was putting this behind him and moving forward.

Cristina was so happy about having Owen sleeping in the same building as her that she had blocked out her nerves about meeting his siblings and was now also looking forward to their trip.

As Owen waited for Cristina after work, he watched the snow falling on this cold Friday evening. As he sat in the lobby looking out his mind took him back to a similar night years ago, when he had found his damsel in distress; a night which changed his life forever.

As they left the hospital together, Owen made sure to check the roof before leading Cristina under it, not wanting another icicle to come anywhere near her.

He drove her home, and she smiled as she watched him lifting his suitcase out of the back of his truck. She grabbed his arm and laid her head on his shoulder, "I'm glad you're home" she whispered.

Owen turned his head to kiss her on the forehead, "Me too" he replied.

* * *

As they began packing, Cristina began to get nervous about the prospect of meeting Owen's siblings. She left Owen busy packing and snuck into the bathroom to phone her crisis hotline; Meredith Grey.

Meredith picked up almost immediately, "Hello"

"Mer, what was I thinking I can't live in the woods for a week, I hate nature. I don't even celebrate Christmas and now I'm signed up to celebrate it for the first time with a bunch of people who will probably hate me, and I won't even be able to escape them because it's one tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere. One Cabin Mer!" she said without even stopping to breathe.

Meredith smiled at the other end of the phone, she was expecting a freak out call from Cristina at some point but kind of thought she would at least make it there first. But who was she to talk she would rather slice off a finger then spend a week with all Derek's sisters.

"Plus, they're used to Beth Mer, they're expecting me to be a Beth."

"Breathe Cristina." She began, "Ok listen, I know we don't do nature, but I don't think this really counts, it's a luxury cabin with central heating and functioning toilets. And as for the siblings, I'm sure they won't hate you, just try to be less bitchy than usual, no offense but you're not the best at first impressions. Plus you're married now as annoying as it is you have to endure the in laws every once and a while."

Cristina relaxed slightly at Meredith's word, "Fine but if I start to sound anything like Beth, you better zoom down to the woods and take me home."

"I promise." Mer replied, "Besides, you're carrying their niece I'm pretty sure that means they're not allowed to hate you."

* * *

"Ready to go?" Owen asked the next morning.

"Ready as I'll ever be" she whispered under her breath.

"What?" Owen asked.

"Nothing, yes I'm ready let's go."

Owen carried out his bag and Cristina's hefty suitcase and packed them into the back of his truck.

They then set off on the 3 hour road trip to the cabin. They settled into the drive, the radio hummed in the background and they were both lost in their own train of thought.

Cristina gasped suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence and causing Owen to jump, "What's wrong?" he asked taking his eyes off the road to look over at her briefly.

Cristina had been running over everything she knew about Christmas in her head as a way to prepare herself, she was basically trying to study. And then she realised she'd forgotten about what seemed to be the most essential part.

"I didn't get anyone presents." She muttered.

Owen couldn't help but laugh at her, "Cristina, we're married. The presents in the back are from both of us." He said running his hand up and down her leg.

"Oh" Cristina said, this was strange for her, she was used to being a know-it-all but Christmas was something she knew very little about.

"I didn't get you anything either." She mumbled.

Owen looked over at her again, "I already have everything I could ever want." He said with a smile and quickly leaned over to give her a kiss.

Cristina couldn't help to smile at how adorably cheesy her husband was sometimes.

"You know I've never brought a girl home for Christmas before." He said.

Cristina was surprises, "Really? Not even Beth?"

Owen shook his head, "Beth made sure we spent every holiday with 'daddy' " Owen replied with a scrunched up nose.

Not that she would ever tell him, but Cristina was pretty happy that she was the first.

Another hour or so of driving passed and as they got closer to their destination, Owen noticed Cristina become fidgety. He knew her well enough to know that she was nervous.

"There's no reason to be nervous" he said gently.

"What I'm not" she instinctively snapped back.

He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Fine, maybe a little. I just want them to like me."

"How could anyone not like you" he replied with his signature cheesy grin.

Cristina scoffed, "Have you ever spoken to literally any nurse, or even any other resident. Trust me it's easier than you think."

"Well I like you." He replied.

"Okay whatever, just tell me about them again." She said wanting to be as prepared as possible.

"Okay" he began, "So I have 2 brothers and a sister, Jacob is the oldest, he's a plumber and he's married to Gracie. Gracie is- well I'll let you make your own opinion on her. Anyways, they have a son, Toby, he just turned 3. Next is me and then Charlotte, you'll like her. She's a photographer, she moved to New York a few years back. She's very….. I don't know how to put it she's just very Charlotte."

"Jeez that's helpful" Cristina rolled her eyes in mock annoyance.

Owen laughed, "Lastly there's Dylan, he's studying to become a lawyer. He's smart but easily distracted, no doubt he'll have a new girl attached to his arm this week. Oh and I can't forget Penny but you've met her before."

"Penny's coming?" Cristina asked excitedly.

Penny was Evelyn's golden retriever, Cristina and Penny had formed an unlikely bond. She was by no means a dog person, but Penny was the exception, and Penny had the same appreciation for Cristina.

Owen nodded in response.

Owen sacrificed his aux cord to Cristina for the remainder of the trip. They have been together for a long time now but were yet to find a middle ground in music.

But he figured it would make her happy so he put up with her loud belting for the last hour of the trip.

She was so into the current song that she hadn't even noticed that they reached their destination.

Owen looked over at her and couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked, she sat with a blanket over her rounded belly, and an empty water bottle in her hand which she was using as a microphone.

He turned off the car, causing the music to stop, "Hey" she said whipping her head around to face him.

"We're here" he said with a smile.

He took her hand, "You've got this, come on let's go inside."

Cristina gulped, "Okay."

 **Notes: Hey, sorry this chapter was kinda short, I was just trying to set up the next few chapters which I'm really excited about. Also, I had already written this when I realised that Owen mentioned in one of the early chapters that he didn't have a brother, so we're just gonna pretend that never happened… okay cool. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter regardless, let me know what you thought :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey, sorry it took so long for me to post, I suck I know. Anyways here it is...enjoy and let me know what you thought :)**

* * *

Owen knocked on the door, and it swung open to reveal a grinning Evelyn Hunt, clearly having the time of her life.

"Owen! Cristina! Come in!" she said holding the door open for them. Evelyn was thrilled to have all of her children under one roof for the next week.

"Hey mum" Owen said as he gave her a hug.

"Cristina, look at you!" Evelyn exclaimed as she hugged Cristina, who was now 7 and a half months pregnant and heavily showing.

"Come on into the living room and sit by the fire, it's chilly out there." She said as she ushered them further into the cabin.

Cristina took Owen's hand as she observed her surroundings, Meredith had been right the cabin was much more luxurious than she was expecting. It was more of a house than a cabin, decorated in a rustic style and sprinkled throughout with pictures of tiny grinning red heads. She made out a few of them to be her husband in miniature form.

They walked into the living room which was centred around a large fireplace. 2 large sofas sat in front of it both of which were scattered with familiar yet unfamiliar faces.

3 pairs of Owen's bright blue eyes stared back at her as they entered the room.

"Owen!" the room shouted in unison.

Before she knew it she was encircled by red heads. A big scruffy looking guy, was first to reach them. He launched at Owen and embraced him in a bear hug, next thing she knew he had Owen in a headlock.

"What's up little bro" he said as he ruffled Owen's hair.

"And who do we have here?" he asked, looking Cristina up and down.

Cristina began to feel uncomfortable as he continued staring at her, he then turned to Owen, "How?" he asked in disbelief.

Owen laughed it off, "Jacob this is Cristina, Cristina this is my older brother Jacob."

Cristina smiled and held out her hand to shake his, but Jacob had other ideas. He began to lunge at Cristina to give her a 'welcome to the family' bear hug.

Owen quickly intercepted, holding his hand up in between them.

"No no no" he said, "She doesn't need a bear hug."

"fine" Jacob replied, before he got shoved aside by his sister.

"The famous Cristina!" she said as she gave her a hug.

"I'm famous?" Cristina asked with a laugh.

Cristina noticed Charlotte had the lightest hair out of the hunts, in was more of a strawberry blonde and was pulled up into a top knot on her head. She wore ripped jeans with a band t-shirt, and she strangely felt at ease around her already. She could tell she was gonna like her.

"You are with the way he talks about you." She said pointing at Owen. "Plus, you're carrying my niece which makes you pretty famous too"

"I'm Charlie by the way"

Cristina didn't get a chance to respond before another new face appeared before her.

"Well aren't you pretty!" said the blonde lady in her thick southern accent.

She was wearing a denim knee-length denim skirt with a hot pink and blue polka-dot jumper, her eyes were not blue like everyone else's but a olive green colour.

"Look at those Curls!" she exclaimed as she proceeded to scrunch them up in her hands.

Cristina stood there uncomfortably, using all of her concentration on not letting her disgust reflect on her face.

Owen looked over at her sympathetically from the sea of people that had gathered between them.

"I'm Gracie, Jacob's wife." She stated.

Cristina nodded, "Right Jacob's wife, and ummm" she racked her brain trying to remember the name of Owen's nephew.

Before she could, she got interrupted by Gracie's high pitch voice again, "Well show me!" she shrieked.

Cristina looked at her quizzically, "What?" she whispered confused.

Gracie rolled her eyes, "Show me the baby" she said, she may as well have added a 'duh' at the end.

Cristina scrunched her eyebrows, "Okay" she said hesitantly as she slowly unzipped her coat.

Gracie squealed so loudly that the hum of conversation throughout the room stopped.

"Would you stop that yapping." Jacob shouted at his wife.

"Yeah I think you deafened the dog" Charlie chimed with a scrunched nose.

Owen took the opportunity to make his way back over to Cristina and lead her away from Gracie.

Everyone in the Hunt family knew that Gracie was only manageable in small doses…very small doses.

Dylan was the last Hunt sibling that Cristina got to meet, he had his ginger hair neatly styled in a slick side fringe and had a much smaller frame than his brothers.

"Cristina, this is Dylan." Owen said introducing the two. Cristina noticed that he seemed the most quiet out of the Hunt tribe.

"Hey Cristina" he said "she's the icicle girl right?" he asked Owen.

"You told him about my icicle?!" Cristina questioned under her breath.

Owen simply nodded his head in answer to both of their questions.

"Well cograts on the baby." Dylan said patting Owen on the shoulder.

"Thanks man" Owen replied as he guided Cristina to the sofa.

* * *

Everyone regrouped and gathered around the fireplace, and the room filled with the buzz of conversation as the Hunt siblings caught up with each other.

Cristina sat on the end of the sofa closest to the fire, with Owen at her side and Penny at her feet.

Owen and his brothers were in the middle of a heated discussion about last nights football game, and Cristina's mock interest was running thin.

Charlie noticed from across the room, "Not a sports person?" she asked as she took a seat on the ledge of the fireplace.

"Not in the slightest" Cristina replied as she turned to face her.

"You?" she asked.

"I run but that's about the height of it" Charlie replied.

Cristina nodded, "Meredith made me go running once, it didn't end well"

"Who's Meredith?" Charlie asked.

Cristina was so used to talking about Meredith that she forgot not everyone knew who she was.

She tucked a curl behind her ear as she tried to think of how to answer that question.

"She my pers… she's my best friend" she said not wanting to come off to strong.

"Oh I see, she was your maid of honour right? I think I've seen pictures."

Cristina smiled, "Yeah that's her"

"You looked amazing by the way, loved that you didn't wear white. I'm gutted I couldn't make it."

"Yeah white wasn't my thing, and don't worry you didn't miss much."

Owen whipped his head around suddenly, "Did I just hear you right?" he asked with a laugh.

Cristina stroked his leg, "You know what I mean, obviously it was good."

"Good?" Owen said with a laugh.

"It was good, I enjoyed it, it was low key and not a huge ordeal just the way I wanted it."

"I'm with Cristina, weddings shouldn't break the bank, it's about the couple not the guests. Some people's weddings would put you off ever getting married" she said pointing and Gracie and Jacob with her eyes.

Owen laughed, "I'll give you that, their wedding was pretty horrendous."

"I've only known her for half an hour, but I can imagine it would've been insufferable." Cristina noted.

Owen and Charlie continued to laugh, "That's an understatement" Charlie chimed.

"She made us take ballroom lessons" she said with her nose scrunched in disgust.

"Oh god" Cristina said under her breath.

* * *

A little while later, the hum of conversation was still in full swing, Cristina had been chatting with Charlie for the majority of the time. And was now listening to a story of the mischief young Owen and her used to get into together. She was sure she would've found the story adorably funny if it wasn't for the fact that she needed to pee so badly that she thought her bladder might burst. She had tried to catch Owen's eye a few times, with no success.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked in the middle of her story after noticing the pained look on Cristina's face.

Cristina sighed in relief, "Yeah I'm fine I just really have to pee."

Charlie laughed in response, "Come on I'll show you where the toilet is."

Charlie guided Cristina out of the living room and up a flight of stairs, as she followed, Cristina couldn't help but stare at the pictures on the wall.

One in particular caught her eye, it was a picture of little Owen, maybe 2 years old sitting on his father's shoulders and pulling the goofiest grin she had ever seen.

This was the first time Cristina had seen a picture of Owen's father. She knew that he passed away when Owen was young, it was something they both had in common. But it was a topic that neither of them like talking about and she was now realising that she didn't even know how he had passed.

Charlie turned around to point out the bathroom and noticed Cristina had stopped halfway up the stairs to study a picture.

She approached her and smiled when she seen what she was looking at.

"They look pretty alike right?" she remarked.

Cristina smiled, "Yeah, they really do."

Charlie glanced at Cristina, "Owen doesn't talk about him much does he?" she asked.

Cristina shook her head in response.

"Yeah, he's never liked talking about it, I mean none of us do, but for me it hurts more to not talk about him, it's almost like he never existed."

Cristina nodded deep in thought.

"Can I ask what happened?"

Charlie tucked a loose strand of her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear, "He had a stroke." She stated.

"Owen was 12 at the time, he was the only one home when it happened…He took it really hard."

A lump grew in Cristina's throat as she pictured the scene, she knew all too well the helplessness Owen must have felt. It surprised her how oddly similar their pasts were.

"We all miss him, especially my mum, she hasn't been the same since she lost him. The two of them were the definition of soulmates, you should've seen them…they were like something from a movie." she said with a smile on her face.

"What about you, are your mum and dad still together?" Charlie asked.

Cristina shook her head, "No I lost my dad when I was young too."

"That sucks"

"Yep" Cristina replied, as they both turned to continue their trek to the bathroom.

* * *

Cristina descended the stairs and was met with a pair of smiling eyes.

"It so good to have you here Cristina!" Evelyn said as she gave Cristina another hug.

Cristina smiled, Evelyn had become the mother she had always dreamed of having. In fact she liked her so much that her constant hugs no longer bothered her.

"It's good to be here" she said returning the smile.

"Tell me dear, how's my baby granddaughter doing?"

"She's doing great" Cristina said placing a hand on her bump.

"You know this is going to be my first granddaughter, of course I love little Toby, but I've always dreamed of having a granddaughter."

"Where is Toby?" Cristina asked realising she was yet to meet him.

"Oh he got put down for a nap shortly before you arrived, I'm sure he'll be up soon."

Cristina nodded.

She followed Evelyn into the kitchen and watched as she put on her apron and began to prepare dinner.

"Do you need any help?" she asked feeling the sudden need to cut, even if it was just a vegetable.

Evelyn smiled, "Yes dear that'd be lovely, you can peal the potatoes for me."

She got Cristina set up at the sink with her own apron and a stack of potatoes. After a brief tutorial on how to use a peeler Cristina was getting the hang of it, she always was a fast learner.

"So, Owen tells me this is your first time celebrating Christmas, just wait 'til tomorrow, that's when all the fun begins." Evelyn said, referring to Christmas Eve.

"Yeah, he's been having to teach me on how things work, I grew up Jewish you see but I never really celebrated any of the holidays." Cristina said amid the sound of Evelyn chopping the carrots.

"What about the baby?" Evelyn asked.

"Huh" Cristina replied.

"Will you let her celebrate Christmas?"

Cristina hadn't thought about this, she was still trying to focus on the pregnancy part and figured she could make all the big decisions when the baby and her no longer shared a body.

She remembered how happy kids always seemed at Christmas and the thought of withholding that from her daughter seemed kinda selfish.

"I don't know, we haven't talked about it, but I guess she could celebrate it if she wanted."

Evelyn grinned in response.

"But no Santa, I'm not going to lie to her about some creepy old dude who likes to watch her sleep."

Evelyn let out a laugh at Cristina's bluntness.

"So how about baby names, do you two have any in mind?"

Cristina paused her pealing, that was another thing she was yet to think about.

"No we haven't discussed that yet." She said turning back to her stack of potatoes.

"Oh okay, what about last names?" Evelyn asked.

Cristina paused again, "We haven't discussed that either."

"It seem you have a lot to discuss."

Cristina didn't know how to respond she was right they still had a lot to talk through, thankfully Owen appeared in the doorway offering a distraction from Evelyn's question time.

"Oh god!" he gasped dramatically.

"You're not letting her cook are you? Are you trying to kill us?" he asked his mother.

Evelyn laughed while Cristina scowled at him.

"She's doing just fine" Evelyn assured him.

Cristina spun around potato peeler in hand, "I can cook" she said emphasising the 'can', whilst pointing the peeler at him, "I just choose not to."

Owen came closer to her and put his hands up in mock surrender, prompting her to lower her weapon.

Evelyn left to set the table, and Owen took the opportunity to give his wife a passionate kiss.

It took her by surprise and she smiled as they parted.

Cristina waited a beat, her conversation with Evelyn still swirling around her head, and then she began to ramble, "Are you wanting to raise your kid Christian? Cause I know you aren't really religious but still you celebrate all the holidays, and well it's not like I want to raise her Jewish but would it be weird if she was Christian and I wasn't? Of course we can celebrate Christmas if that's what you want but no Santa. And we still haven't even thought about names Owen, she has to have a name. We can't call her 'she' for the rest of her life, but a name is such a huge decision it's the first thing people ask when they meet you, and a lot of people their name… I hate my name. I don't want our daughter to hate her name Owen." She finally took a second to breathe.

Owen had taken a step back and was watching her amused by her sudden outburst of panic.

Cristina looked up to see him grinning at her, "It's not funny" she said.

Owen stepped forward and placed a hand on her arm, "I'm sorry it's just…. What did my mum do to you?" he said with a laugh.

"She just got me thinking, we have so much we haven't discussed."

Owen nodded and stroked her arm, "We have time, I promise we'll discuss it all okay?"

She nodded in response.

"Just not right this second" he added.

He kissed her on the cheek, "You're cute when you ramble" he whispered in her ear.

She smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Want to see my amazing peeling skills" she said turning back to her potatoes.

"Always" Owen replied with a smile.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Notes: Hey guys, sorry for how long I took again and sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter, I hope you enjoy it regardless, thanks for the reviews they make my day!**_

* * *

That night after dinner, Owen carried his and Cristina's bags up to their room. Cristina followed behind him, she yawned loudly and Owen turned around and laughed at her. She was pretty exhausted from the travel not to mention the effort of trying to make a good first impression with Owen's siblings.

She figured she'd done a pretty good job, they all seemed nice enough and so far none showed any sign of hating her. She smiled as they entered their room and she saw the inviting king sized bed dressed in flannel sheets with a fur blanket on top. She couldn't wait to climb in and pass out.

After a quick argument about Owen's sleeping arrangements, Cristina desperately wanting him to sleep in bed with her and Owen adamant about sleeping on the sofa in the living room, they had come to the agreement that he would sleep on the floor in their room.

Owen plopped down beside her on the bed after brushing his teeth.

"You know they all really like you" he said whilst tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

Cristina rolled over on her side to face him, "Really?" she asked.

Owen smiled, "Yeah, in fact while you were in the kitchen with mum they wouldn't shut up about how much better you are than Beth"

That made Cristina smile, "I am better than Beth" she whispered.

Owen laughed and leaned in to steal a quick kiss.

"I like them too you know" Cristina said after they parted.

"Especially Charlie"

"I knew you two would get along" Owen replied, he couldn't help but smile, this was the first time Charlie had ever liked anyone he had dated. _Of course she would like Cristina, how could you not_ , he thought to himself.

"She told me about your dad" Cristina said warily, she was afraid this subject would erase his beautiful smile, but felt like it was a good time to bring it up.

As she feared, his smile vanished as he was taken off guard by her statement, but it was quickly replaced by a half smile.

"Oh yeah" he said.

Cristina decided to dig a little further, "You never really talk about him" she said.

Owen paused and she wondered if he was ever going to respond, "He was my best friend…..he was one of those dads you see in the movies… the ones who spend every free moment playing with their kids." His voice grew louder as he found confidence to continue, "He taught me everything, sports, manners, work ethic, how to ride a bike. He was just the best, and I think…. he would have really liked you…I think about that a lot." He admitted.

Cristina sat up as he finished talking, "I wish I could've met him" she replied.

Owen placed a hand on her growing bump, "He would've made an awesome grandpa." He said sadly with a smile whilst stroking her bump with his thumb.

Cristina smiled back at him and leaned forward to give him a kiss on his forehead.

* * *

The next morning Cristina was awoken by whispering coming off the floor beside her, she was still half asleep and so didn't think anything of it.

Until she heard her husband shout, "Attack" and a bouncing toddler climbed on to her bed, she looked at him sleepily and in her hazy state figured he must be the nephew she was yet to meet. But, before she could say anything, he pounced on her. He was quickly joined by her husband, they were either side of her so she couldn't escape and before she could fully grasp what was happening, they both began frantically tickling her.

Cristina began to squirm and shriek,

"Stop it" she hissed but to no avail.

Soon she was laughing hysterically which made little Toby giggle too. Cristina saw this as her escape and took the opportunity to grab the miniature red head and show him a taste of his own medicine.

His adorable laughter filled the room and Owen took a minute to appreciate the scene in front of him as his wife tickled the life out of his nephew. He couldn't wait to experience this same scene with his own daughter.

When the giggles died down Owen climbed onto the bed with them and grabbed Toby away from Cristina and sat him on his knee.

"Morning Auntie Tina" Toby said with an adorable lisp which Cristina couldn't help but smile at.

"Good Morning Toby" she replied

"Guess who's coming tonight?!" he said excitedly.

"Who?" Owen replied playing dumb.

Toby stood up and started jumping on the bed, "SANTA!"

He ran over and placed both his little hands either side of Cristina's face, "Santa's coming TONIGHT!" he screamed as if she hadn't got the message.

She mirrored his actions with her hands on his cheeks, "Yay" she said smiling.

"A-and he's gonna bring me a remote control car!" he said this time running over to tell Owen.

Owen smiled at him, he really was adorable, "Only if you've been a good boy" he said ruffling his nephew's hair.

"TOBY BREAKFAST IS READY" his mum called from downstairs.

Toby quickly scrambled off the bed and out the door muttering something about chocolate chip pancakes.

Owen laughed at his prompt exit and looked over to see Cristina doing the same.

"He's quite something" she said.

"Yeah Toby's a little fire rocket"

"Just think, this time next year we'll have our own little girl crawling on our bed." He said grinning.

Cristina's face showed a mixture of fear and excitement, "Yeah" she replied.

Owen moved positions so he was now sitting beside his wife and rested his head on her shoulder.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked.

"Oh you mean before the attack?" she quipped back.

"Yes" Owen laughed.

"I slept fine, would've slept better if you weren't on the damn floor" she muttered.

Owen ignored her remark, "You ready for your first Christmas Eve?" he asked with a smile.

"Ready as I'll ever be" she replied.

* * *

Owen and Cristina were called down for breakfast soon later, as they sat down at the table, Cristina noticed a red and white Santa hat laid at each place setting.

Owen's mum had prepared a gourmet breakfast, it really was like something out of the movies. "Good morning sweetheart" Evelyn said to Cristina from across the table.

"Dig in"

"This looks amazing" Cristina replied, as she scanned the table to decide what to start with.

She nudged Owen and pointed for him to pass her the pancakes, and she helped herself to a stack and drizzled them with maple syrup.

The hum of merry conversation was interrupted by the clinking of a fork on a glass.

Everyone turned to see Evelyn smiling and ready to speak, "Merry Christmas everyone, I just want to say how special it is to be spending Christmas with all of you under one roof. I'm one very thankful old lady" she finished with a grin and resumed her seat.

An echo of "Love you mum" was heard around the room before everyone continued tucking into their breakfast feast.

"Let the Christmas Eve traditions commence" Dylan shouted.

Cristina turned to Owen, "Traditions?" she whispered to him.

Owen was about to explain when he was interrupted by Toby, "Aunty Tina put your hat on right now!" he ordered placing his little hands on his hips as he waited.

The whole table laughed at his bossy behaviour and Cristina looked up to see that everyone else had already placed their santa hats on their heads, so she reluctantly did the same.

Owen laughed at the sight before him, Cristina Yang in a Santa hat was a sight he never thought he would see.

She noticed him laughing at her and kicked him under the table.

"What? You look adorable" he replied still laughing.

Once everyone's plates were empty and stomachs were full, an eager Toby turned to his mum with a bright smile on his face.

"Is it zoom zoom time?" he asked bouncing up and down.

His mum nodded, "We're gonna go real soon okay" she replied.

Cristina turned to Owen questioningly again.

"That's tradition number one" he said with a smile, "Zoom zoom is what he calls snow tubing" he explained.

Toby jumped off his chair and ran over to Owen's seat, "Uncle Owen, you're my partner again last time we go super fast" he rambled excitedly.

Owen reached out to ruffle Toby's hair, "I'm sorry little man, I can't go this year I'm gonna stay with Aunty Cristina."

The smile on Toby's face instantly dropped and it pulled on the heart strings of everyone at the table.

"Aunty Tina come too" Toby replied pulling on Cristina's sleeve.

Owen gave the kid a sad smile, "Aunty Tina can't come because of the baby." He explained.

Toby frowned again "Oh okay" he mumbled sadly before sulking off to the other room.

Cristina turned to Owen, "Owen go with him, I'll be fine here" she said.

Owen shook his head, "No I'm not gonna leave you by yourself" he replied.

"Owen I'll be fine, but that was the saddest thing I've ever seen and if you don't go with I can't promise that these stupid hormones won't make me cry and I'm not about to cry in front of your whole family, so go with him or I will"

Owen laughed at her reply, "Ok fine"

Owen left to go find Toby and a few minutes later excitable shrieking could be heard coming from the next room.

She smiled to herself, she was becoming pretty fond of her little ginger nephew.

* * *

Cristina watched as everyone got bundled up in their snow gear and made their way out the door, to her surprise even Evelyn enjoyed this tradition.  
Owen was last to leave, he stood by her side, "Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes at how over protective he was, "I'll be fine Owen, go" she said pushing him out the door.

"Have fun"

"okay" he replied reluctantly.

He leaned in to steal a quick kiss before she closed the door on him.

It wasn't until she was watching them drive away that she felt it.

 _No it couldn't be, she thought to herself._

But there it was again this time twice as strong.

"Awch" she cried clutching her bump…

* * *

 _ **Notes: Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought!**_


	22. Chapter 22

"Awch" she cried clutching her bump...

 _This cannot be happening. Are you freakin' kidding me._

She kept repeating the same thoughts over and over again in her head.

She held onto the edge of the kitchen counter as another contraction ripped through her.

 _Fuck maybe those Lamaze classes Owen kept suggesting would've come in useful right about now._

She stood up straight and tried to compose herself.

 _Okay breathe… you're only 7 and a half months these are just Braxton Hicks Contractions no need to freak out._

Right? They have to be.

Deciding that they were nothing to freak out over, she made her way over to the sofa and sat in front of the TV in dire need of a distraction from the pain racking through her body.

She skimmed through the channels, skipping through various insufferable day time TV shows.

"Ugh why does no one air surgery tapes" she sighed out loud to herself, they were the only thing that would entertain her enough to distract her from the pain.

Penny had curled up at her feet and was watching her intently, seemingly aware that something was wrong.

The contractions continued and she winced with each one, she angrily turned the TV off and threw the remote across the sofa, annoyed that her source of distraction had let her down.

She closed her eyes as the pain continued, the thought of calling Owen flashed through her head, but she pushed it out knowing how guilty he would feel for leaving her alone. Plus, she didn't want to give him the pleasure of being right about not wanting to leave her, the pain was bad enough without having to suffer through that.

A buzzing in her pocket caused her eyes to snap open.

 _Please don't be Owen, please don't be Owen._

She knew he would be able to hear the pain in her voice and would rush back and make a whole scene.

She reluctantly looked at her phone screen.

She sighed in relief to see Meredith's smiling face appear.

 _Oh thank God_

She pressed accept and held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello" Mer said

"Oh thank God Mer I need your help." Was Cristina's greeting back

"W-what's wrong?" Meredith asked confused and slightly concerned.

"Did you murder one of Owen's siblings, it's okay if you did I'll have your back… but it's just we're both pregnant and I don't know how well we could move the body…" she began to ramble.

"I didn't kill anyone Mer"

"Oh" Meredith said sounding strangely disappointed.

"What is it then?"

"I think I'm…. ouch h-having contractions."

Meredith gasped.

"What! How do you know?"  
"Because it hurts like crap" Cristina replied.

"Oh shit" Meredith muttered.

"Where's Owen?"

"He went snow tubing with his family"

"Oh shit" She repeated louder this time.

"I-i can come get you hold on let me just tell Derek"

"No Mer" Cristina gasped.

"Slow down, you can't tell Derek because Derek will tell Owen"

Meredith paused confused, "No he won't it's not like they talk all the time, guys don't really tell each other things like we do"

"Well I think 'hey your wife is having contractions' is kinda the things guys do tell each other" Cristina muttered.

Meredith realised this was besides the point, "Wait a minute why haven't you told Owen?"  
Cristina sighed, "Because he will be all fussy and want to take me to the hospital when in fact it's probably nothing to worry about. I'm only 7 and a half months what I'm having are Braxton Hicks, they have to be." She said trying to convince herself as well as Meredith.

"Right?" she asked after Meredith remained silent.

"Right….yeah probably" Meredith replied unconvincingly.

"Okay, so I need you to tell me one of your stupid stories about Mcdreamy being an ass to distract me, cause Mer contraction hurt like crap."

Mer paused,"I don't think I have any he's been particularly dreamy lately." She replied  
Cristina rolled her eyes.

 _The one time I actually want to listen to her dumb stories, and suddenly the man's turned into prince freaking charming_ she thought to herself.

"Oh actually… I've got one last week…."

 _Thank god_ Cristina thought as she listened to the ramblings of Mcdreamy's one not so dreamy moment from last week.

* * *

An hour later and Mer finally finished her story, the story had not worked as Cristina had wanted, in fact it made her pain all the more insufferable.

Her contractions were still coming and she was getting pretty sick of them at this point.

"Cristina?" Mer asked as she heard her friend quick intake of breath indicating another contraction was hitting her.

"What" she replied harsher than intended.

Meredith paused, "What if they're not Braxton Hicks?"

Cristina didn't reply.

"Maybe you should call Owen now" Meredith tried.

It was then that Cristina heard a car door close and a single pair of footsteps coming towards the cabin.

"Oh shit Mer someone's here, I have to go"  
Meredith was beginning to worry about her friend, "Well call me back later"

"Ok bye" Cristina said quickly before locking her phone.

 _Okay, time to act like you aren't in extreme amounts of pain_ she tried giving herself a pep talk before mustering a fake smile.

 _Fuck how do I normally sit?_ She thought to herself, wanting to appear as perfectly fine as possible.

She heard the door open and them step inside.

"Cristina" she heard Charlie call.

"I forgot my gloves and Owen asked me to check on you."

"I'm in here" she called out.

Her fake smile and normal posture was put to the test as a wave of contraction hit her right as Charlie entered the room.

"Oh dear god what's wrong?" Charlie asked seeing right through her.

She rushed to her side waiting for an answer.

"I'm fine" Cristina said, once again trying and failing to hide her discomfort.

"Oh my god are you in labour?" She asked excitedly.

"Because I've watched 4 seasons of Call the midwife, so I can totally deliver this baby."

Cristina looked up at her as she excitedly started to list off the things they need.

"And towels…"

Cristina interrupted her and crushed her excitement, "You're not delivering my baby Charlie"

Charlie's shoulder slumped as she came out of her excited haze.

"But you are having contractions?" she asked.

Cristina scrunched up her face, "Yes"

"Well why are we just standing here shouldn't we be going to the hospital?" she asked.

"Have you told Owen?" she asked confused, before Cristina could reply to her first question.

As if on que Charlie's phone started ringing, she took it out of her pocked to look at the called ID.

Cristina watched her face, "It's him isn't it?"  
"Yeah"

"Don't tell him"

"Cristina!" she muttered.

"I'm fine if they get worse I'll tell him but there's no need for him to know now, he'd just make a big fuss over nothing."  
"It's hardly nothing" Charlie laughed.  
"Answer it otherwise he's gonna come looking for us" Cristina prompted her.

"Fine, but you should know I'm a terrible liar"

"Hello"

"Hey did you check on Cristina?" he asked.

"Oh uhm Cristina? Yeahhh I um did check on her"

Cristina rolled her eyes as she watched Charlie's desperate state of panic as she tried to conceal her lie.

"Is she okay?"

"Oh yeahh" she amswered far to enthusiastically.

"She's great, she's uhmmm watching Ellen! I-i love Ellen you know she gives away free cars… like every day! How could you not love that woman" she spat out in a fast ramble.

Cristina dropped her head to her hands, she wasn't lying when she said she was a bad liar.

She held her hands up in question with her _What the hell was that_ face on as she made eye contact with Charlie who was still on the phone.

'I don't know Charlie' mouthed back as she started pacing back and forth.

Owen had been silently for a while now and she only just realised.

"Owen?"

"Put Cristina on the phone"

Charlie handed the phone over with a sympathetic look on her face.

"hello" Cristina said.

"What's wrong?" Owen asked getting straight to the point.

"What…nothing, why would you think that's something's wrong?" she asked feigning confusion.

"Cristina" he said in his no-nonsense voice.

"Charlie is the world's worst liar, and besides you've never watched an episode of Ellen in your life"

"Now tell me what's going on" he said sternly.

Cristina sighed, "I may be having contractions" she mumbled quickly.

"What! Why didn't you call me"

"I'm sure they're nothing" she replied

"They're not nothing I'm coming back" he said matter-of-factly.

"Put Charlie back on the phone"

* * *

After giving Charlie instructions to drive Cristina to meet him at the nearest hospital, Charlie hung up the phone.

"You know you might be the worst liar I've ever met" Cristina said with a laugh

"I warned you" Charlie protested.

"Get in the car we're going to the hospital."

After a short car journey through the snow, they arrived at the hospital. It was smaller that SGMW and Cristina had never heard of it before.

They spotted Owen's car and parked beside it.

Owen jumped out of his car and ran around to help Cristina out.

"Hey" she offered quietly as she climbed out of the car. She wasn't sure if he would be annoyed at her for not calling him.

"Hey" he replied, her smile causing all of his built-up annoyance to vanish in an instant.

"How you feeling?"

"Contractions hurt like hell" she replied taking his hand.

Owen gave her hand a squeeze and thanked Charlie before closing the car door.

* * *

They got seen pretty quickly, one of the perks of being at a small hospital. Cristina was being examined by a Dr Finnegan. She lay silently holding Owen's hand as Owen continue to ask various questions repeatedly.

"Is she in active labour?"

"What's the foetal heart beat?"

"How far apart are her contractions?"

The doctor had answered the first round of questions but after the second and third round had begun to reply with "We'll know more when we get the results to these tests."

A few moments later, the doctor had gathered his results and approached the bed.

"Okay guys, you are not in active labour. However, you are already a few centimetres dilated which concerns me. You still have 10 weeks until your due date, and at this point seeing as you are already dilated it seems unlikely that you'll make it to full term."

Owen squeezed Cristina's hand as she looked up at him fearfully.

"I have prescribed you some mediation which will stop the contractions and will hopefully halt dilation. Being doctors you can agree that it is in your best interests for you to make it as close to full term as possible, therefore in order to give you the best chances of that, I am putting you on strict bed rest."

Cristina's eyes bulged out of her head, she looked like a child who had just seen their cat being ran over. Her mouth dropped open as she processed what the doctor was saying.

The doctor continued, "You shouldn't be on your feet unless it is completely necessary. We wouldn't want you to dilate any further." He finished.

Owen continued asking question while Cristina sat string blankly ahead.

 _Are you freaking kidding me?! Cristina Yang does not do bed rest._

* * *

 _ **Notes: Hey thanks for reading, I actually didn't take ages to post this time! Hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you thought. Sorry if the medical stuff isn't accurate I got the idea from this pregnant girl I follow on Instagram which this happened too and I don't know all the details so it probably isn't medically correct but oh well.**_


	23. Chapter 23

The doctor left the room, leaving Cristina and Owen alone together in the quiet exam room.

Cristina was still staring blankly ahead looking pretty miserable.

Owen hated seeing her like this, but there was nothing he could do about it. He could only begin to imagine the sort of trouble he was going to have the following weeks trying to keep her in bed. He had known Cristina for years and the only time he had seen her willingly take time off work was during her post shooting break down.

Looking at her now it was clear that she wasn't going to take this well.

He approached her and gently stroked her arm.

"Hey come on it's not the end of the world" he said.

Her head snapped up and a look of disbelief was revealed on her face.

'Okay wrong thing to say' he thought to himself.

"Not the end of the world?!" she hissed, "Owen, he put me on bed rest for 10 freaking weeks"

"I want this baby Owen but my career is important to me and I can't afford to fall behind, I need to be the best and I can't do that from bed."

Owen smiled sadly at her and took one of her hands in his, "Cris I know this sucks, but all that matters is that you and our baby are healthy"

"Easy for you to say no ones stopping you from operating" she mumbled in response.

He moved a hand up to cup her face, "You're not going to fall behind Cristina, listen I don't know how yet but we'll figure something out okay?"

The certainty in his voice and the pleading look he had on his face made her ease out of her foul mood slightly but the cloud still hovered over her head and she imagined it would remain there until she got a scrub cap on her head and blood back on her hands.

They got back into the car and Owen began to drive.

"Do you want to go home?" he asked unsure whether another few days with his family was something she would want right now.

She really wanted to go home, she wanted to see Mer, she's the only one who would understand just how awful her prescribed treatment was. She wanted to moan about it and feel crappy without having to feel guilty for wanting to go against what was best for her unborn child, Mer would get it she always did.

But she knew how much Owen was enjoying being with his family and she was enjoying seeing a new side of him.

"No it's fine, as long as there's a bed I should be all set at the cabin" she said sarcastically.

He smiled at her appreciatively and brought her hand to his lips to kiss it.

"I kinda thought we were having a baby today" he said after a few moments of silence.

Cristina glanced away from the window to look over at him, "You sound disappointed" she said with a laugh.

"Well I know she's not ready to come out yet but I getting so excited to meet her."

Cristina couldn't help but smile at him and her bad mood faded away a little more at his words.

"But I can wait 10 more weeks, so you stay put" he said taking his eyes off the road to talk directly to her bump.

"It would've been a disaster if she came today, we are so not ready" she said

"I know" he said smiling over at her, "when we get back home, we'll get organised so if she decides to make a surprise entrance we'll be prepared….But that won't be for weeks because you are going to do what the doctor said"

That elicited a groan from Cristina, but she didn't protest.

When they got back to the cabin Cristina began to realise just how hard these next few weeks would be when Owen argued that bed rest meant laying down and so she had to go to their bed instead of lounging on the sofa. God why did I marry such a goody two shoes she thought to herself Owen was the kind to follow the doctor's orders to a t.

He had got her set up in bed and had made sure she took her medication before she convinced him that he didn't have to stay there with her all night. There was no point of being at his family cabin if they both spent all their time in their room.

When he left she took the opportunity to call Meredith.

"So did you tell him?" Meredith said as soon as she answered the call.

"Oh I told him, or more like he figured it out"

"And?" Meredith asked digging for information.

"And he dragged me to the hospital where the doctor told me I was already dilated and put me on bed rest for 10 weeks"

Meredith gasped.

"Bed rest, that's hell" she said in a disgusted tone.

"Exactly" Cristina sighed.

"And Owen's taking it way too seriously, he said he'd work something out to stop me from falling behind at work but I can't see that happening considering he won't even let me get out of bed to sit on the sofa"

"Ugh men are asses" Meredith groaned, "They get a baby without doing any of the work"

"They don't have to do stupid bed rest" Cristina muttered.

Meredith and Cristina continued going back and forth about how unfair pregnancy was until Owen came into the room interrupting them. He caught the tail end of their conversation on how men should be the ones who have to breast feed and couldn't help but laugh to himself as he entered the room.

"I brought you dinner" he said as he approached the bed.

"They're asses alright but mine just brought me food so he's not completely useless" Cristina said into the phone.

She hung up her call with Meredith and Owen handed her a plate of steaming hot homemade chicken pie.

"Glad to hear you still have some use for me" he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

She grabbed the fork from his hand and began to shovel forkfuls of pie into her mouth.

"Oh god I'm starving"

"This is incredible" she said with a mouthful of food.

Owen laughed, "That's tradition number 2 mum makes it every Christmas eve, it's a family favourite"

"You're first Christmas eve didn't go exactly how I expected" he joked.

"What you didn't anticipate the contractions?" she retoted.

Owen stayed with her whilst she devoured her dinner and after giving him another push to go spend time with his family she was alone again.

She jumped out of bed to retrieve her laptop from her suitcase and then got herself situated back in her spot.

She had been caught off guard today and that was something she never liked to be, so even though Owen had promised her that they would get organised when they got home, the list of things they needed to do had been adding up in her head and now that she had nothing better to do she thought she'd make a start.

At the top of her list and something her and Owen had discussed briefly a few months ago but she had kinda pushed out of her mind was finding a new home for them which didn't have as many potential death traps as their current fire house did.

So, she spent the next few hours scrolling through listing after listing trying to find the perfect place for them to raise their baby girl. Somewhere big enough for the 3 of them but not too big, close to the hospital but also close to Mer's house and within their budget as well.

It was a harder task than she had expected, and she cursed her mother for possessing her with high standards when it came to real estate.

She thought back to when they bought the fire house, it was only a year ago and back then all she was focused on was getting to share a home with Owen at last, she didn't care where they lived and so bought the first place they had looked at.

So much had changed in a year, it wasn't just the two of them now, she had to think about things like school districts and whether the garden would be big enough for Owen to teach their little girl how to play football.

She had a few houses bookmarked to show Owen but she wasn't in love with any of them, they each had something lacking about them but were the best she could find on the market.

She heard a soft knock and turned to see Toby peeking in through the crack in the door.

"Are you feeling better Aunty Tina?" he asked as he opened the door and walked towards the bed.

She smiled at him, "I am thank you Toby" god he was cute.

She noticed he was dressed in his winter coat and wrapped up in a scarf, hat and gloves.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

He climbed up on the bed beside her, "We're going singing" he said grinning with excitement.

"Do you want to hear me practice?" he asked eagerly.

Cristina scrunched up her nose "Oh no that's okay"

But she realised it was more of a rhetorical question when he burst into a lispy rendition of 'We wish you a Merry Christmas.'

Owen could hear him as he climbed the stairs and laughed when he got to the doorway and saw the scene.

Toby was jumping up and down on the bed, using the end of his scarf as a microphone.

Owen knocked on the open door, "I hate to break up the party you two are having but they're waiting for you downstairs little man"

Toby jumped off the bed, "Bye aunty Tina Merry Christmas" he called as he ran out of the room.

Owen laughed again and made his way over to Cristina holding up a slice of cake on a plate.

"For you my lady" he said in an awful British accent.

She laughed "Why thank you" she replied happily taking the cake.

Owen took off his shoes and climbed onto the bed beside her.

"Are you not going carolling? I'm guessing that is tradition number three." She said.

"You're correct, and no I'm going to stay here with you, besides my singing voice is too good to be wasted singing through the streets of Seattle." He joked.

She laughed in response.

"What've you been up to?" he asked.

"Oh" she said with a mouthful of cake, "I have something to show you"

She moved the laptop over so it was in between them and pulled up the page of listings.

"You've been looking at houses" he said with a laugh as he scrolled down the page.

She looked at him confused, "Yes why is that funny, we really need to find somewhere."

She watched as he half heartedly looked through the listings not even taking the time to read the descriptions.

"What? Do you not like them?" She asked still confused.

He laughed again, "No they seem nice it's just-"

He paused and then jumped out of bed, "One second" he said to a baffled Cristina.

She watched as he dug around in his suitcase "I know you love the fire house, I do too, but its not practical with a baby" she said trying to understand why he was acting so weird.

"It's not that" he said still rummaging through his suitcase.

"Then what is it?"

"Ah hah" he said when he found what he was looking for.

He walked back over to Cristina with a small red box in hand.

She looked at him puzzled, "I was gonna give you this tomorrow, but I guess you can have it now" he said smiling and sitting back down beside her.

She took the box perplexed by how small it was, "You realise we're already married" she joked.

He laughed in response, "Just open it."

She carefully undid the red bow and unwrapped the shiny paper revealing a wooden box inside.

She looked over at him and smiled as she opened the small wooden box.

Much to her surprise a silver key lay in the box and she traced it with her finger and looked to her husband confused.

"What is this?" she asked.

"It's a key" he said matter-of-factly,

"To our new home."

He could see the surprise in her eyes, "What" she said in disbelief.

"How did you- when did you-" she mumbled, her mind filling with so many questions she was unable to pick one.

"I started looking when we talked a few months ago, I wanted to surprise you"

"Well I'm surprised alright." She laughed.

"It's super close to the hospital and only five minutes away from Meredith. It has 3 bedrooms, a beautiful kitchen and a spacious back yard. It needed some work though which is why you're only hearing about it now, but as of last week it's ready for us to move in." he said with a grin.

Cristina was speechless she leaned over and kissed him to show her appreciation.

When they pulled apart her held her face in his hands, "I want to see it" she said excitedly.

He smiled at her child like excitement "I'll take you tomorrow"

She snuggled closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder, "You bought us a house" she whispered happily.

"I did" he replied giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I've literally been planning this Christmas chapter since December and I'm only now getting round to doing it. Anyways hope you still enjoyed it even though it's April, let me know what you thought :)**


	24. Chapter 24

Cristina woke up the next morning with a flutter of kicks from her baby girl. She placed a hand on her bump and marvelled in the movement of her unborn daughter.

She looked over at her sleeping husband glad that her was finally sleeping with her in bed and not on the floor. She took his limp arm and placed his hand where he could feel the movement.

Owen awoke to a soft flutter against his hand and smiled when he opened his eyes and realised what the sensation was. He moved closer to Cristina and snuggled into her neck, "Merry Christmas" he whispered sleepily into her hair.

She smiled up at him and relished in the warmth of his embrace on this cold December morning.

"So what's on the agenda for today" she asked while stifling a yawn.

Owen kept his hand on her bump and began to lazily trace his finger over it.

"Well in about-" Owen paused looking over at the alarm clock, "10 minutes you will hear squeals of excitement as Toby finds his Santa presents. Then mum will call us downstairs where we will spend the next few hours watching him rip open presents"

"Wait so I actually get to leave this bed" Cristina asked sarcastically.

Owen went thoughtful for a moment, "Yes" he laughed, "But please just relax and don't push yourself" he said turning serious for a second.

She leaned over and kissed him "Yes sir" she joked.

* * *

The morning went just as Owen had described, Cristina was sat on the sofa in between her husband and her half asleep sister in law on one sofa whilst the rest of the family sat opposite them.

Her and Charlotte laughed as they watched Dylan from across the room. Every so often his eyes would drift shut only to fly open seconds later as Toby yelped with excitement upon opening another gift.

The focus on the morning was very much on Toby and no one else got to open any presents until all of his were unwrapped and he was busy pestering his dad to help him put them together.

Evelyn then began distributing the presents from around the tree and the next hour was spent taking turns opening gifts in a very orderly fashion, Cristina could definitely see where Owen got his ways.

She had to say Christmas morning wasn't as awful as she had expected besides from the early start. But the present part she was quite a fan of.

Her and Owen had acquired a large pile of baby supplies throughout the course of the morning which she was thankful for as it made her feel a little more prepared.

When all presents had been unwrapped and the floor was covered in gold paper and sparkly ribbons, Evelyn made her exit to begin the preparations for their Christmas lunch.

"I'm gonna go give her a hand" Owen said leaning in to give Cristina a kiss on the cheek before following his mother into the kitchen.

The room cleared as people went to get dressed until it was just Cristina, Charlotte and Dylan.

"You feeling better?" Dylan asked from across the room.

Cristina smiled, "Yeah I am thanks" she replied.

"Although I'm stuck on stupid bed rest which is gonna be the death of me"

Before anyone could respond loud screaming could be heard coming from upstairs.

They all stared at the roof and Dylan and Charlotte laughed knowingly.

"Is that-" Cristina began.

"Jacob and Gracie yep" Charlotte laughed.

"Things always kick off between them during the holidays, that woman is something else" Dylan said shaking his head with laughter.

They heard a loud shriek accompanied with a door slam and all burst out in laughter again.

"If you think this is bad you should've seen her Christmas of 2008, Jacob bought her the wrong pair of earrings and she stormed out of the house and proceeded to walk home in a blizzard, some trucker found her passed out and took her to the hospital and even then she wouldn't peak to Jacob for 3 months."

Cristina chuckled.

"Honestly I'm surprised Toby is as normal as he is with her as his mum" Charlotte chimed.

The couple continued to argue and only relented to eat dinner, although the tension between them could be cut with a knife. The rest of the table filled their plates and tried to chat avoiding the big ball of tension emitting from the two.

The conversation during the meal consisted mostly about baby, it seemed as though Owen's family were taking it in turn to ask questions about how they planned to raise their kid or what their birth plan was.

By the time dessert was over it was near 5 O'clock and everyone was adequately stuffed. After finishing the dishes Owen sat down beside Cristina on the sofa.

"How was your first Christmas dinner?" he asked her.

She smiled, "Deliciously awkward" she replied.

Owen laughed in response, "Are you ready to go see your house?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes" she shrieked.

* * *

After Owen had loaded their car and Cristina had been hugged an uncomfortable amount of times, they were ready to leave.

Owen picked up a sad Toby for one last hug, "You'll come see us when the baby is born okay?" he said trying to cheer him up.

"Okay" Toby mumbled, "Bye aunty Tina" he hugged her leg and waved as they left through the door.

Owen helped Cristina into his truck and reclined her seat all the way trying his best to keep the doctor's orders of bed rest even on the road trip back home.

"Thanks for putting up with my family for the weekend" he said giving her a kiss on the cheek, "I know they can ask a lot of questions, they're all just excited to have a baby girl in the family."

She smiled as he got into the drivers seat and began the journey back home.

About 10 minutes into the journey Owen heard a soft snoring and looked over to see Cristina fast asleep.

He smiled at her and reached into the back to grab a blanket which he draped over her.

When they pulled up at the house a few hours later Cristina was still asleep.

Owen walked around to her side and gently stroked her cheek, "We're home" he whispered in her ear.

Her eyes slowly drifted open and she yawned, stretching her arms out and hazily coming to terms with her surroundings.

She looked up at her husband who was smiling down at her. Her eyes focused on behind him where a 2-storey white bricked modern cottage style home stood. A few tall trees and bright green grass surrounded the building and a cobble path came off the driveway and led to the front door.

She sat up and took it all in, it was picturesque, a tranquil setting compared to the fast paced city location of the firehouse, the perfect place to start a family.

Owen watched her as she observed their new home, "What do you think?"

She gazed at him with a look of disbelief in her eyes, "It's beautiful."

"Wanna see inside?" he asked.

"Yeah" she replied excitedly.

She jumped out of the car and took his hand as he led her to the front door.

She walked inside and span around looking at the open plan layout of the living room and spacious kitchen.

He guided her around the first floor, showing her the bathroom, office and laundry room and then led her up the stairs to a spacious landing which overlooked the living room and off of which 3 bedrooms were situated.

They viewed each room and finished in the master bedroom with an adjoining walk in wardrobe and huge en-suite.

Cristina had been speechless throughout the tour, "Do you like it?" Owen asked, thrown off by her silence.

Cristina smiled again and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I love it"

She kissed him lovingly "It's perfect."

He leaned in to kiss her again, "I think so too."

"Let me show you the garden" he said excitedly.

He guided her out the double doors attached to the living room and out into a spacious back yard.

"I was thinking we could put a playground over there" he said gesturing.

"And then we could put a swing on that tree" he said pointing to a tall tree off to the side of the garden."

Images of Owen chasing after a little curly haired girl flashed through Cristina's head and unexpectedly brought tears to her eyes.

Owen stopped gesturing when he noticed, "Are you crying?" he laughed.

She playfully shoved him "Shut up it's the hormones."

He brought her close to his chest and kissed her on the forehead.

"Come see this" he said taking her hand and leading her to the tree he had been talking about.

"Look I carved our initials into it the day I made the sale." He said pointing it out.

That brought on another round of involuntary hormonal tears, "You're such a dork" she said although she couldn't help but smile.

She pulled him in for another kiss.

"Thank you for the house" she said when they finally pulled apart.

"But if you tell anyone I cried I swear to god I'll kill you in your sleep."

Owen laughed, "I wouldn't dream of it."

 **Notes: Sorry it was short and kinda rushed, I'm really busy with exams but I still want to keep updating this story. Hope you enjoyed it anyway, tell me what you thought. :)**


	25. Chapter 25

Derek lugged yet another box into the living room sweating with exhaustion.

"Where do you want this?" he asked.

Cristina glanced up at him from where she was sitting on the sofa, "What is it?" she asked scooping another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

Derek set the box down, "I don't know Cristina the box is sealed" he said exasperated.

Cristina thought about it, "Umm what did it feel like?"

Derek gave her a look, "Cristina they're your boxes." He said raising his voice slightly.

Cristina snorted, "You really think Owen let me pack. Bed rest Derek, remember?" she said gesturing to her seat on the sofa.

Derek didn't respond but she could see his agitation growing.

Cristina raised her eyebrows, "Okay fine just leave it here" she said defensively.

She shared a look with Meredith who was sitting beside her and offered her the pint of ice cream, she took it.

"Derek can you give us a hand with this" Owen shouted from outside.

"Mcdreamy is a little mcgrumpy today" Cristina joked as Derek left the room.

Callie snorted, "I think the labour is ruining his perfect hair, he probably spent hours on it this morning"

They all laughed even Meredith.

"Tell us Mer how long does he spend on it? It has to be longer than you" Cristina said gesturing to Meredith's hair.

Meredith elbowed her, "Excuse me!" she said feigning hurt.

"Well?" Callie asked from beside Meredith.

"Like 30 minutes" she said, "but don't tell him I told you"

Cristina and Callie laughed again.

Outside Mark groaned as he manoeuvred an armchair out of the moving van.

"How come they get to have all the fun" he mumbled having heard the giggles from inside.

Owen came up behind him and clapped him on the back, "They're knocked up."

Mark sighed, "But I want ice cream" he moaned.

Owen, Derek and Arizona stumbled through the living room carrying a bed frame. While Mark followed behind carrying the mattress.

"You ladies alright?" Owen asked as they passed through, although he was mainly focused on Cristina.

"No" Meredith sighed "We ran out of ice cream."

"There's another one in the freezer" Owen said as they began to climb the stairs.

The three woman sighed and looked at each other.

"I'm on bed rest" Cristina claimed throwing her arms up.

Callie and Meredith stared each other down.

"Mark?" Callie called giving her best smile.

Mark laughed and continued up the stairs, "Get your own damn ice cream."

Still neither made a move.

"It's ok Owen will get us it" Cristina said.

And sure enough Owen descended the stairs and laughed at the 3 pregnant woman staring at him, none of which had moved a muscle.

He retrieved the ice cream and handed it to Cristina with a kiss on the forehead.

"Thank you" Cristina smile.

Cristina opened the ice cream and looked up to see Meredith and Callie laughing at her.

"What?" she asked.

They both snickered, "He is so whipped" Callie joked.

"No he's not" Cristina laughed.

Just then Owen returned and handed them each a soda.

"Thought you might be thirsty" he said giving her a quick kiss.

Cristina laughed this time, "Okay maybe a little."

* * *

An few hours passed and the house became scattered with boxes and odd bits of furniture.

Meredith, Callie and Cristina hadn't moved an inch and had gone through another pint of ice cream.

Arizona had given up an hour ago and had joined the girls on the sofa, and Mark followed soon after.

Owen and Derek carried in the last piece of furniture, another sofa for the living room. As soon as they set it down, they collapsed onto it.

Cristina watched Owen from across the room he looked exhausted but happy. He hadn't stopped smiling all day and it warmed her heart how excited he was to move into their new home.

Owen caught her watching him and winked at her, then he sat forward and clapped his hand together.

"Well I think I owe you all some dinner." He said standing up and moving towards the kitchen.

"Yes Hunt!" Mark mumbled in excitement.

"I'm starving!" Meredith echoed.

Derek laughed at her, "You're starving? You haven't moved!"

She scoffed, "Excuse me it's exhausting work growing a baby with perfect hair."

Derek laughed and gave her a kiss on the cheek before heading to the bathroom.

The room settle into a mixture of different conversations and Cristina watched as Owen slaved away in the kitchen.

She got up, her legs feeling like jelly after sitting for so long and walked into the kitchen.

He was boiling pasta over the stove, she went over to him and put her arms around his waist from behind.

He smiled as he felt her embrace and turned around to look at her.

"What are you doing up?" he joked.

"I think I'll forget how to walk if I stay down any longer."

He smiled down at her again, he wouldn't tell her because she would brush it off and call him delusional, but she was glowing, the pregnancy glow is no myth and it looked good on her.

"Thank you for taking it easy" he said grateful that she hadn't complained too much about bed rest the last few days, although he knew it wasn't going to last.

She reached up and touched his smile lines, "You're happy" she said quietly.

His smile grew even larger if that was possible, "Of course I'm happy, you make me happy" he said cupping her face and bringing her in for a deep meaningful kiss.

They lost track of time and their serenity was broken by a hungry Mark Sloan.

"Yo love birds, am I ever getting this dinner"

Owen laughed, "Coming right up" he said turning back to his pasta.

* * *

They all tucked into the spaghetti bolognaise Owen had prepared, hungrily shovelling forkfuls into their mouths.

Derek had taken Cristina's seat beside Meredith, Callie and Arizona sat together next to them and Mark sat on the other sofa with Cristina and Owen.

The room was silent apart from the sounds of cutlery scraping and people happily chewing.

Derek looked around the room and smiled, "Isn't it funny how we all ended up pregnant at the same time." He commented.

There was a series of nods in response, "Who do you think will pop first?" Mark asked.

Owen laughed, "It's not gonna be us, Cristina's keeping the doctor's order and that baby's not coming out til it's full term" he said matter of factly.

"Well Callie's due first" Meredith noted.

Callie smiled, "Yeah it'll probably be us."

"I'll let you know what it's like" she said looking at the other two pregnant ladies.

"Can't wait" Cristina said with a scrunched up nose.

"How weird is it that in a few months we will all be parents" Arizona mused.

"There'll be 3 more little people any time we all get together." She continued.

They all seemed to get lost in that thought for a while.

"The hospital nursey won't know what's hit it" Derek joked.

They all laughed.

Everyone dispersed soon after, all exhausted from the days work.

Owen walked upstairs after finishing the dishes and smiled to see Cristina already asleep in their bed.

The bed was the one piece of furniture which was built, and it was surrounded by boxes, one box had been ripped open and a pile of his t-shirts lay on the floor.

He climbed in beside her and noticed that she was wearing her favourite t-shirt of his, he smiled again and wrapped his arms around her.

She stirred and turned over to bury her head in his chest.

"Happy first night in our new home." He whispered into her ear.

She smiled at how dorky and sentimental he was about these kinds of things.

She mumbled a response before falling deeply asleep.

* * *

The next day Owen reluctantly left Cristina at home set up with a supply of snacks and hours worth of surgery tapes.

He returned to work determined to find a way for Cristina to continue to learn even while on bed rest.

The idea came from an unlikely source.

Owen was busy filling out charts at the nurse's station when he heard his name being uttered by someone he was not particularly fond of.

"Dr Hunt" Burke said.

Owen looked up perplexed, "Yes."

"I have an idea for you, if you promise not to hit me."

Owen merely nodded in response.

"I heard some nurses talking about how Cristina is on bedrest and knowing Cristina that will probably drive her mad."

Owen hated how he talked as if he knew her, he wanted to rip his head off and roll it down the corridor, but he mustered the courage to keep a straight face and listen to what he had to say.

"And well, in the last hospital I worked at, one of the head doctors went on maternity leave and she would skype into the hospital throughout the day. She made an intern carry her around, she would go on rounds, monitor interns and then watch a live stream of the surgeries."

Owen pondered this, it was a good idea, he just hated that it wasn't his idea.

"She could remain on my service, so she wouldn't fall behind on cardio, or she could rotate around the hospital. Whatever she wanted. We would just need to get the chief to sign off on it."

Owen laughed slightly, "Oh don't worry about the chief, Derek owes Cristina a few favours."

Owen continued to think it over, it would keep Cristina from going insane and would prevent her from making a break for it.

"Okay" he said simply, "I'll run it by Cristina"

And then Owen did something he thought he would never do, he offered Burke his hand and Burke shook it.

"Thank you Burke" he said through gritted teeth, if it kept Cristina happy he would do just about anything, including thanking the man he hated with a passion.

 **Notes: Hope you enjoyed this short wee chapter, I 'took a break from studying' and ended up spending a few hours writing. I apologise for the excessive fluff I've really been missing them lately and needed some. Let me know what you thought!**


	26. Chapter 26

It was 2 weeks later now and as Owen had expected Cristina was keen on Burke's proposed idea. It was the best she could get without actually being at the hospital.

She got to address patients, teach interns and observe surgeries all from the comfort of her bed. She had to admit she owed Burke one for coming up with the idea.

He had surprised her these past 2 weeks, he was always making sure that an intern was holding her at an angle where she could see and he made a point of including her in the discussions.

Perhaps he was trying to make up for the whole leaving her at the alter thing or maybe he was just being a good teacher, either way she would take it.

Others in the hospital weren't too found of having a virtual resident in their operating rooms. Bailey in particular had refused to include Cristina and insisted that she should just turn the ipad off and do normal bed rest things like any other non-workaholic pregnant woman would do.

But Cristina wasn't like other woman and this was the only thing currently keeping her sane, although she did miss the smell of the operating room and the feeling of a heart beating under her hands.

On this particular Wednesday, she had just finished a CABG with Dr Burke and she was currently being carried to the canteen to see her friends for lunch.

"Walk faster" she hissed to the intern who was carrying her.

He rolled his eyes in response and picked up his pace.

"Excuse me, I seen that. Just because I'm not physically there doesn't mean you can roll your eyes at your resident. Do it again and I'll see to it that you're on scut for the foreseeable future" she snapped, enjoying the fear-stricken look that came across his face as he mumbled an apology and practically ran to the canteen.

He sought out Meredith and happily handed Cristina over.

Meredith laughed as the resident practically threw the ipad at her.

"How can you intimidate him like that through a screen" she laughed.

"What can I say, I'm talented" Cristina quipped.

Meredith took a bite of her sandwich, "So have I missed any hospital drama?" Cristina asked.

"Uhm nurse shelly got fired, apparently she stole a bunch of drugs"

Cristina nodded not surprised, "She always looked like a drugie" she commented.

The table soon filled with the rest of their group and the usual banter returned, they were all laughing at a joke Alex had made when the sound of a chair screeching was heard and the room quietened.

"What's happening?" Cristina asked.

"Uhm it looks like Derek's making some sort of announcement" Meredith said without looking down.

"Point me!" Cristina instructed.

Meredith tilted her so she could see Derek standing on a chair in the middle of the canteen.

"Okay everyone sorry to interrupt, I am here to let you all know that as of today I will resign as Chief of surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West"

There was a echo of gasps throughout the room.

"What!" Cristina said in shock.

"And proceeding me as Chief will be Dr Owen Hunt" Derek finished.

"What?!" Cristina exclaimed even louder this time.

Everyone else in the room was just as confused and whispered to each other as Owen made a quick speech.

"How could he not tell me?" Cristina said confused.

Meredith shrugged, "Derek didn't tell me he was quitting."

"I'm no expert on marriage but these seem like things you share with your wife" Cristina mused.

After Owen was finished being congratulated he made his way over to the resident's table, taking a seat beside Meredith.

"Here ask him yourself, I need to go speak to Derek" Mer said handing Owen the ipad.

"Hey" Owen said smiling.

"Hey chief" she replied.

He laughed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"I only found out early, and I didn't want to rub it in your face."

She rolled her eyes, "Owen I'm happy for you"

"Really?" he asked not expecting his surgery deprived wife to react this way.

"Of course, congratulations"

"Just think of all the favours you can do me, I thought I had it good with Derek being chief." She joked.

He laughed again.

"I'm gonna have to wear a suit" he commented.

Cristina smiled, "You look good in a suit"

He smiled back at her, "How was your surgery this morning?" he asked.

"It was good, patient was stable the whole time, kinda boring"

He laughed lightly at her, "Have you eaten today?"

She didn't reply.

"Cristina I know you love observing all these surgeries but still need to take care of yourself"

"I know I know" she muttered.

"There's leftovers in the fridge." He said.

* * *

After lunch, Cristina was picked back up by her intern and taken back to the cardio wing where they were rounding on Dr Burke's post ops.

"Ok everyone lets keep this quick, I have to leave early." Burke said before entering the patient's room.

The next thing Cristina knew the patient was crashing and she was thrown into the arms of some nurse who plopped her down on the counter of the nurse's station and left her there.

"No take me back I want to see!" she whined.

A passer by who was hovering at the same nurses station heard her, and curiously walked over to the source of the noise.

Cristina noticed she was being picked up, "Yes!" she exclaimed.

It was then that she was brought face to face with mama Burke.

Cristina screamed instinctively and fumbled for the end call button. She pressed it five times and threw the ipad down on the bed still screaming.

She shivered with disguist, and swore when she realised she probably couldn't get back on her call again today.

* * *

Owen returned home to find Cristina in bed engrossed in her laptop online shopping for baby supplies.

"Having fun?" he asked

She smiled when she saw him, "Not really I don't know what I'm doing"

She remembered what she had stashed under her bed, she reached over and pulled out a bottle of prosecco.

"Congratulations" she said holding it out for him.

He crossed the room smiling at her, "How did you get this?" he asked.

She shrugged, "May have blackmailed an intern" she said nonchalantly.

He laughed as he popped it open and took a swig.

"Thank you" he said as he leaned over to kiss her.

"I'll get you something to drink" he said retreating to the kitchen.

He returned with a champagne glass filled with Fanta, she took it and cheers him.

"To chief Hunt" she said.

"To chief Hunt" he laughed.

Owen lifted her laptop onto his lap, "So have you gotten anywhere with the baby stuff?" he asked.

The only things they had so far for their baby was the onesie Cristina had bought shortly after finding out and the gifts from Owen's family.

"No, I think you're just gonna have to go in store and make it a one stop shop." She said.

"Okay" he said shutting the laptop. "I can go tomorrow after work"

She nodded, "Yeah go to babies r us they do next day delivery and they build it all for you."

"Okay" he said as he climbed under the covers with her.

"We need the boring stuff as well like bottles, and breast pumps and swaddles."

He stroked her cheek, "We'll get it all, you can make a list if you want."

She mumbled a response, before falling asleep with her head laid on his chest.

* * *

Owen kept his word and the next evening he was wandering the aisles of babies r us with Cristina on face time and a trolley already half full.

They were currently in the car seat aisle trying to decide on which model would be best when Owen spotted a very familiar face.

"Shit!" he swore quickly turning around, making Cristina raise her eyebrows in surprise.

"Owen!" Beth called, as she made her way down the aisle towards him.

He turned to greet her, accidentally knocking Cristina into the trolley as he did so.

Cristina squinted her eyes to see who he was talking to, from this angle she could only make out that whoever it was had blonde hair.

"Beth! Nice to see you" Owen said awkwardly.

Cristina gasped and listened intently.

The conversation was so awkward it was painful to observe.

"Are you having a baby?" Beth asked after the normal small talk had been made.

Owen shuffled uncomfortably on the spot, "Uhm yes I am" he said unable to hold off a smile.

"Oh" she said simply.

"Are you?" Owen asked after a second of pause.

She shook her head, "No, one of my co-workers, Debbie you remember Debbie?"

Owen nodded awkwardly in response.

"Yeah well I'm trying to find her a gift but this store is huge, I keep getting lost" she said.

Owen forced a laugh, "Well good luck with that" he said starting to push his trolley again.

"Thank you" she replied as she began to walk off.

"Owen" she called as she turned back around.

He turned to look at her again, "Congratulations."

Owen smiled in response and continued down the aisle.

He realised his phone was no longer balanced on the trolley and dug through onesies to retrieve it.

Cristina was staring at him as he did so.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes" Owen replied honestly, "I've come a long way from having a panic attack when I see her"

Cristina smiled in response.

"Okay" Owen said getting back to the task at hand, "Which car seat?"

 **Notes: Look at me posting consecutively, definitely should have been studying but this story was calling my name. I'm excited for the next few chapters, let me know what you thought of this one!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes: Sorry this took so long, I hope it's worth the wait...let me know what you think :)**

The nursery was finally finished, it had been painted a baby blue colour and fully stocked with baby supplies. The process had taken the better part of 3 weeks, with Owen been busy at work and Cristina being on her 5th week of bed rest (not that she wanted to help, but it infuriated her that she wasn't allowed to).

Having the nursery ready to go settled Cristina's mind and helped her to feel more prepared for the arrival of her daughter, although they still had 5 more weeks to wait.

As per her new normal, Cristina was in bed and on this particular day she was particularly grouchy about it. This was because Dr Burke had a very interesting case which she had been following for the last week and he was operating on it this afternoon. The ipad wasn't enough for her anymore, she needed to have her hands emerged in a chest cavity again, she needed to do what she does best.

And so instead she had been biting Owen's head off for the past hour as he got ready for work, because that lucky bastard gets to have a baby and still operate to his heart's content.

She was full on screaming at him now and he was just standing there and taking it like a champ, he had learned that it was best to keep his mouth shut because anything he said can and would be used against him.

He tried to reason with himself that it was just the hormones and she didn't mean the things she was saying, and so he crossed the room and leaned forward to give her a kiss goodbye on the forehead while she was still ranting with rage.

She turned away from him and dodged the kiss.

"sod off" she whispered.

Owen sighed losing his patience, "You know what fine, I will" he muttered and promptly left the bedroom slamming the door behind him.

She flopped deeper into the pillows with a sigh and reached for her ipad.

After listening to Dr Burke explaining the procedure to the patient and watching one of his incompetent interns attempt to prep for the surgery, Cristina turned the ipad off in anger and threw it across the bed.

Who was Owen to tell her what to do, the old Cristina Yang wouldn't take any of this 'bed rest' nonsense.

And with that thought she climbed out of bed and got dressed, she walked through to the garage and contemplated taking her bike just to spite Owen but decided against it, she wasn't a completely horrible wife. So instead she called a taxi.

* * *

It felt weird being out of the house, it was liberating to feel the wind in her hair again for the first time in what felt like forever.

She relaxed in her seat enjoying the ride until her phone buzzed with a text from Owen,

'I'm sorry, call me if you need anything. I'll make you spaghetti for dinner to make you feel better, take care of our girl xxx'

It was typical of Owen to apologise when he really hadn't done anything wrong, she loved him for that. She suddenly began to feel a little bit guilty as she read the text over. But that thought was pushed out of her head as the car pulled up at the hospital.

She paid for her taxi and made her way inside.

Stealthily she navigated the hospital corridors peaking around each corner to ensure Owen wasn't nearby. She walked against the wall like she had seen in many of the action films Owen had made her sit through.

"Chief can you take a look at this" she heard an intern say from down the hallway.

She didn't think anything of it until she heard Owen reply, "Yes, what've you got for me Dr Davis"

 _Shit! Owen's chief now_ , that was going to take her some time to get used to.

She ducked into a supply closet in the nick of time, before he could see her.

She leaned against the door and sighed in relief, that was close. Once she heard Owen and the intern head for the pit, she cracked the door open and slipped out.

She hadn't really thought about how she was going to convince Burke to let her scrub in on the surgery or how she was going to prevent Owen from finding out, but she needed to change into scrubs to begin with, so she headed for the residents locker room as fast as she could waddle.

She was thankful to see the bench when she reached the changing room, immediately she took a seat. She was out of breath and her feet ached, yet she was still determined to scrub in on Dr Burke's surgery this afternoon.

She had her head in her hands when the door opened, and Meredith burst in.

"Cristina?"

Cristina took her head out of her hands and looked up at her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked as she sat down beside her.

Cristina sighed and dragged her fingers through her hair, "Owen was really pissing me off this morning"

Meredith laughed, "So you came here to spite him?"

"No I came here to scrub in with Burke"

That sent Meredith into hysterical laughter.

She looked up to see Cristina with a straight face, "Wait you're serious?" she asked incredulous.

Cristina just nodded in response.

"Cristina you don't actually believe you're going to be able to withstand a 7 hour long surgery in your condition."

Cristina sighed again, "I'll be fine, I just need you to help me convince Burke"

It was Meredith's turn to sigh now, "Cristina, you've seemed to have forgot about something. Tall guy, ginger hair, dashing smile, goes by the name of Owen Hunt. He would kill me if I let you operate behind his back."

Cristina scrunched her forehead in annoyance, "Since when have you been scared of what Owen will think."

Meredith scoffed, "He's chief now, he could fire me on the spot if I put you in danger."

Cristina rolled her eyes as she slowly came to her senses, she didn't want to put her baby in danger, but dear god did she need to cut.

"I just need to cut" she whispered.

Meredith edged closer to her and Cristina rested her head on her shoulder.

She knew how hard it was for Cristina to go without surgery, it reminded her of when she had broken down during the merger.

"I have an idea" Meredith said softly.

"Remember on you're almost wedding day, we convinced Bailey to let you cut. Maybe we could try that again"

Cristina lifted her head off Meredith's shoulder to look at her, "It would just be one cut though" Meredith added.

Cristina nodded in response, "Page her" she said.

A few minutes later the door swung open and there stood Dr Bailey.

"Dr Grey why the hell are you paging me to the resident's loc-" the fiery woman stopped mid-sentence when she spotted Cristina.

"Cristina Yang if it wasn't bad enough having you on that stupid screen I didn't think you were dumb enough to come here in person." She said in she usually snarky tone.

Meredith interrupted, "Dr Bailey she just needs to cut, one cut. Please she's going insane."

Bailey laughed, "No way Jose, Owen Hunt would eat me for dinner. I put up a tough act but that man has military training I wouldn't want to get in his way when it comes to his wife."

Meredith and Cristina sighed and looked at each other.

"Nor will anyone else in this hospital for that matter before you try and coheres someone else into helping you" She added as she headed for the door.

"Dr Bailey" Cristina called after her, "Don't tell him that I'm here"

Bailey rolled her eyes in response, "Get back to bed Yang" she said as she left the room.

Cristina slumped back down on the bench.

"Come on I'll take you home" Meredith said as she turned to get her keys out of her locker.

Cristina stood up, "No Mer I can't go home"

"Cristina" Meredith sighed.

"Even if no one will let me operate, being here is still better than being stuck in my stupid bed"

Meredith contemplated her.

"So you're gonna sneak around the hospital all day and hide from your husband?"

"Yes" Cristina replied matter-of-factly.

Meredith shook her head and laughed.

"Are you going to help me?" Cristina asked.

"Fine" she sighed as she grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door.

"Where are we going?"

"Well you can't hide in here all day, come on I'll take you to see Callie"

"Ok" Cristina replied as they began their ninja like sneak through the hospital corridors.

* * *

They made it to the maternity ward successfully, Callie had gone in to labour 2 days prior and had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. Cristina had heard all about her from Owen who had gushed about her for the better part of an hour, if he was this obsessed with someone else's kid she could only imagine what he'd be like with their own.

They knocked lightly on the door and went in, Callie was surprised to see them.

"Where's this baby that my husband won't shut up about?" Cristina asked in greeting as they entered.

Callie was alone in her room, "Sleeping" she said as she pointed to a bassinet in the corner of the room.

Cristina walked over and stared at the baby swaddled in a pink blanket peacefully sleeping away, she had to admit it was one cute baby, not as cute as hers would be though.

"She's pretty darn cute" she said as she made her way over to sit at Callie's bedside.

"I can't stop staring at her" Callie said smiling.

"So did it hurt?" Cristina asked curiously.

"Like a bitch" she replied.

Meredith and Cristina shared a worried glance.

"But it's totally worth it!" Callie beamed.

Callie continued to share her experience with the 2 mothers to be, going in to graphic detail whilst they listened intently, until it clicked with Callie.

"Wait aren't you supposed to be on strict bed rest?" Callie asked with a laugh.

Meredith laughed with her, "She came in to perform a 7 hour surgery with Burke."

Callie laughed even more in response.

"Well whatever, they're not letting me scrub in" Cristina said bitterly.

"Does Owen know you're here?" Callie asked.

It was Cristina's turn to laugh now "Of course not"

"She's hiding from him" Meredith clarified.

"Ohhh" Callie said as she laughed again.

"Well I hate to break it to you, but this probably isn't the best place to hide from him, Owen has been coming to see Sofia like a moth to a flame, he genuinely can't get enough. I'm pretty sure she's sick of looking at him." Callie joked.

Cristina rolled her eyes, "I swear he's going to lose his mind when this girl pops out" She muttered pointing to her belly.

As if on cue there was a knock at the door.

Cristina froze and looked frantically between Callie and Meredith.

"Who is it?" Callie called.

"It's me, it's Owen" the voice said from behind the door.

"Shit" Cristina whispered as she frantically looked around the room for somewhere to hide.

When she couldn't find one she started gesturing wildly at Callie for her to make something up.

"Oh uhmmm, I'm getting changed" Callie muttered flustered.

Owen cleared his throat behind the door, "Oh okay, I can wait."

Cristina dragged her hands through her hair and started muttering to Callie trying to get her to make something better up.

"Actually Owen I'm really tired I'm about to take a nap, can this wait?" she asked.

They all waited in anticipation for his reply.

"Oh well, I'm here on chief business, I just need to quickly chat about your maternity leave. I promise I'll be out of your hair in five minutes."

They all sighed.

Cristina prepared herself for the inevitable.

'sorry' Callie mouthed to Cristina before she replied.

"Okay come on in" she said through the door, unable to keep him out without raising suspicion.

Owen stepped into the room with a smile on his face, he closed the door behind him and the smile quickly faded as he spotted Cristina.

Cristina reluctantly turned to face him and watched as a scowl formed on his face.

There was a long awkward silence as they both stared at each other.

Callie watched as Owen's agitation grew and she could see he was about to blow.

"Okay I lied, but if you're going to scream at her please don't do it here, I just got Sofia to sleep."

Owen nodded and wordlessly grabbed Cristina's arm and dragged her out of the room and into the nearest supply close.

He let go of her arm once they were inside and started pacing in front of her.

He stopped suddenly and stared at her.

"What?" she asked.

"What?" Owen repeated with a scoff.

"How about you start with why you are in the hospital when you're supposed to be on strict bed rest."

He shook his head as he continued to rant at her, "You understand that I'm not trying to keep you captive at home, this order came directly from your doctor in order to keep you and the baby healthy." His voice got increasingly loud as he continued.

"You know the complications that can arise with your condition, you're a doctor for crying out loud Cristina. How could you be so selfish as to disobey the doctor's orders."

Cristina had zoned out halfway through his rant when an unusual feeling came from her bump.

Owen dragged his hands through his hair and looked up to meet Cristina's eyes for the first time and noticed the look on her face.

"Cristina?" he asked in a worried voice which was of great contrast to the yelling he had just been doing.

Cristina took his hand as she tried to work out was going on in her body.

"What's wrong?"

Before she could answer him her water burst and splashed onto the floor.


End file.
